Joash Ojo Amupitan’s alleged partisan posture as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who will preside over the 2027 general election, haunts him to the marrow, even as Nigerians across the country keep calling for his removal
By Udoka Ekeleme, Abuja
Across the country, calls for the resignation of Joash Amupitan as the Chairman of Nigeria’s electoral body keep growing. At the last count, the youth wing of African Democratic Congress (ADC), staged a peaceful protest to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, demanding the immediate removal of Prof. Joash Amupitan, Chairman of the electoral body.
In a letter handed over to the Commission’s Secretary at its office on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, Balarabe Rufai, ADC’s National Youth Leader, called on INEC to stay out of active participation in internal party affairs.
The letter read, “We write with urgency and unwavering resolve, further to our press conference of April 6, 2026, wherein the Youth Wing of the ADC issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Commission under your leadership.
‘That ultimatum has expired without compliance. Your failure to act has not only aggravated public concern, but has reinforced the perception of institutional bias, constitutional overreach and deliberate undermining of democratic norms by the Commission.
Rufai recalled that on July 29, 2025, the ADC held a lawful National Executive Council (NEC) meeting under the full supervision of INEC. The meeting validly dissolved the previous National Working Committee (NWC) of ADC and produced a new leadership led by Senator David Mark as the National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as the National Secretary of the party.
He stated that INEC duly received, verified, uploaded, and recognised this leadership on September 9, 2025, adding that there was no dispute, no objection, and no ambiguity at the time of recognition.
Subsequently, individuals who had relinquished their positions resurfaced to challenge a lawful process. While the matter remains before the courts, the Court of Appeal directed that the status quo ante bellum be maintained, the last uncontested position, which clearly remains the leadership under Senator David Mark.
He said despite these clear facts, INEC acted on letters and pending motions without judicial determination, assumed the unconstitutional role of interpreting court orders, disregarded due process and its own verified records, and engaged in actions that amounted to institutional sabotage.
The ADC youth leader noted that INEC has no constitutional authority to interpret court orders, saying responsibility lies solely with the judiciary.
“What the commission has done is not neutrality, it is complicity and a direct assault on democratic governance.
“We hereby restate and escalate our demands as follows: immediate restoration of the duly recognised ADC leadership under Senator Mark and Aregbesola on INEC’s official portal.
“A public apology to Nigerians for unconstitutional and partisan actions. Immediate cessation of all actions based on letters, pending motions, or nonbinding processes. Strict adherence to constitutional limits by refraining from interpreting court directives.
“Demonstrable commitment to neutrality, independence, and institutional integrity.
“The immediate resignation or removal of the INEC Chairman for actions that have eroded public confidence in the Commission”.
In the same vein, the Gombe State Chapter of the ADC, has also demanded that the Chairman of the INEC, Amupitan, must resign.
The party members made the call during a peaceful protest at the INEC office last week in Gombe the capital city of Gombe State. The protesters were seen carrying banners with an inscriptions that read, ‘Amupitan: Resign before the street resigns you’.
The INEC boss was accused of having ties with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), following the recent discovery of alleged X account linked to him.
On its part, the coalition of opposition parties which held its summit in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Saturday April 25, 2026, insisted that Amupitan will be the only problem to a free, fair and credible election in 2027.
The Communiqué issued at the end of Opposition Political Parties National Summit, after an extensive deliberation on the collective threats that face the country under the stranglehold of the oppressive and anti-democratic APC, resolved as follows: “That we shall resist all machinations by the APC to foist a one-party State on Nigeria and fight for the survival of multi-party democracy in our country.
“That despite the onslaughts and manoeuvrings of the ruling party, the APC to impose President Bola Tinubu as the sole Presidential candidate in 2027; we shall field candidates and contest the 2027 Presidential and other elections.
“That we shall work towards fielding one Presidential Candidate for the 2027 elections, which shall be agreed and supported by all participating opposition parties to rescue our nation and her long-suffering masses.
“That the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, having shown bias and partisanship in favour of the ruling APC, should not conduct the 2027 general elections as Nigerians across board have lost confidence in him and his capacity to guarantee the required neutrality to deliver free, fair, transparent and credible elections. His continuous stay in office is vexatious and capable of triggering wide spread crisis in our nation”.
The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has also called for the immediate resignation of Amupitan as INEC Chairman.
Atiku’s call came amid growing controversy surrounding claims that past comments attributed to Amupitan suggested political alignment with the ruling APC, raising concerns among opposition figures about the neutrality of the electoral body ahead of the 2027 elections.
In a strongly worded statement titled, “Why Amupitan Must Resign Now’, the ADC’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”.
In his defence, Amupitan, through his spokesperson, Adedayo Oketola, issued a rebuttal on claims that the INEC Chairman was President Tinubu’s supporter, affirming he is 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.
Again, the ADC has escalated the call for the resignation of Amupitan to INEC’s foreign development partners.
The foreign development partners provide funding and technical assistance for certain critical operations of the Nigerian electoral body in pre and post-election periods.
Such assistance includes plugging budgetary shortfalls, or for urgent unanticipated needs where no budgetary outlays have been made by the Commission.
Primarily, the assistance is usually rendered through co-sponsoring of programmes, to augment INEC’s statutory allocation.
Furthermore, the Movement for Credible Elections (MCE), has also demanded the removal of the Chairman of INEC.
MCE said in a statement, “The MCE is compelled, in the overriding public interest, particularly in defense of Nigeria’s electoral integrity, to issue this statement as touching the deepening crisis of confidence surrounding the office of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presently occupied by Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, ahead of the 2027 general elections.” it said.
A former Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, said recently that INEC, has declared itself an opposition against opposition parties, especially the ADC.
Dalung, a chieftain of the ADC made this statement in an interview on Friday, April 24, on Trust TV’s Daily Politics.
Dalung had said, “The worst of all, when we had INEC now declaring itself as the main opposition against the ADC, that was when we have the highest number of people joining the party.
“INEC is the opposition party in Nigeria, because INEC is the only institution that has failed to act within the confines of law.
“It behaves with impunity and recklessness, because up to now, as I sit as a lawyer, I still cannot find expression of where INEC derives the power it exercises and without remorse. It is still acting as if it has the moral high grounds to do that.
“There was a court verdict against a ruling confirming suspension of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) Samuel Anyanwu from the party. But today, INEC refused to obey that court order.”
