The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, have called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, citing concerns over his perceived impartiality and the integrity of the electoral process.
The demand comes amid growing controversy surrounding claims that past comments attributed to Amupitan suggest political alignment with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), raising concerns among opposition figures about the neutrality of the electoral body ahead of future elections.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Why Amupitan Must Resign Now’, the party’s spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, described recent revelations linking the INEC Chairman to a pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu tweet from 2023 as “a grave affront to the integrity of our electoral system.”
Also in a post shared on X Saturday by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku accused the electoral umpire of harbouring sympathies for the APC, citing what he described as resurfaced social media posts allegedly linked to the INEC chairman.
On Friday, Amupitan, through his spokesperson, Adedayo Oketola, issued a rebuttal on claims that the INEC chairman was President Tinubu’s supporter, affirming he’s a neutral appointee, a requirement mandated by the constitution to protect the sanctity of the nation’s election space.
Oketola, in the statement, claimed that Amupitan “does not own or operate any personal account on X. He has at no time engaged in partisan commentary, nor has he ever associated himself with any political leaning or activity in his private or public capacity.”
However, the ADC said it would renew and escalate its civil disobedience action until the INEC chair leaves office.
It maintained that the INEC chairman must resign, saying that an electoral umpire must not only be independent but must also be seen to be independent beyond a reasonable doubt.
The party further expressed concern over reports of attempts to alter or erase digital records related to the matter, describing such actions as “a calculated assault on truth and accountability.”
“A man who manipulates records to save himself cannot be trusted to safeguard the mandate of millions,” the statement read.
Abdullahi argued that Professor Amupitan’s conduct, utterances, and the emerging digital evidence have fallen short of the standard expected of someone entrusted with conducting free and fair elections.
The party likened the situation to “a referee running around in the shirt of one of the teams he is supposed to officiate.”
It therefore demanded that Professor Amupitan resign immediately, warning that failure to do so would amount to “an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy.”
He added that it will update its petitions to relevant institutions, including foreign governments and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and will escalate its civil disobedience actions until the INEC Chairman steps down.
“The recent revelation linking a pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu tweet of 2023 to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Amupitan, is not merely disturbing; it is a grave affront to the integrity of our electoral system.
“In a democracy, the umpire must be above suspicion. He must not only be independent, but also he must be seen, beyond any reasonable doubt, to be independent. That is the minimum standard required of anyone entrusted with the sacred duty of conducting free and fair elections.
“However, more troubling is the desperate attempt to tamper with digital records, to erase evidence of his previous partisanship.
“This is not a trivial matter. It is a calculated assault on truth and accountability.
“A man who manipulates records to save himself cannot be trusted to safeguard the mandate of millions.
“Over the past few days, it has been repeatedly revealed that Professor Amupitan, by his conduct, his utterances, and now by incontrovertible digital evidence, has fallen far below the standard expected of an electoral umpire. The referee cannot be running around in the shirt of one of the teams he’s supposed to officiate in a match. This is why Professor Amupitan must resign.
“Now, anything less is an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy. Relying on this evidence, ADC will be updating our petitions to all relevant institutions, including foreign governments and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
“We will also renew and escalate our civil disobedience action until the INEC Chairman leaves office.”
On his part, Atiku called for the immediate resignation or removal of Amupitan over allegations of partisanship.
He described resurfaced social media posts allegedly linked to the INEC chairman as evidence that he cannot be entrusted with supervising the 2027 general election.
“INEC Chairman Prof Joash Amupitan is more than a teacher and practitioner of law; it is evidently clear that he is also a closet sympathiser of the ruling APC. He needs to resign immediately or be sacked!” he wrote.
Chuks Okocha
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