Amupitan Under Fire Over Rigging Plot
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Joash Amupitan faces public odium over allegations of his plot to rig the 2027 presidential election in favour of incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
By Udoka Ekeleme, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,608,660 invalid entries from the preliminary register of voters following a nationwide review of registrations recorded during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The commission also identified 54 registration officials across 10 states for possible disciplinary action, including prosecution, over alleged irregularities uncovered during the exercise.
Prof. Joash Amupitan, INEC Chairman, disclosed this on Monday November 9, while briefing journalists on the outcome of the review, following complaints and objections raised by Nigerians after the preliminary register was displayed nationwide between October 9 and 15.
Amupitan said the Commission received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the CVR exercise, with its Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagging 1,545,052 entries for further examination.
He, however, clarified that being flagged by the automated system did not automatically render a registration invalid, explaining that each case was subjected to further scrutiny and authorised adjudication before a decision was taken.
The commission also removed 1,749 records belonging to deceased persons. Amupitan said 876 such records had been verified, while 873 additional cases were identified and removed during the review.
The clean-up followed widespread concerns over the integrity of the preliminary register, with Nigerians and civil society organisations drawing attention to suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs, multiple registrations, unusual names and entries belonging to deceased persons.
Some of the questionable photographs circulated on social media, triggering questions about the effectiveness of INEC’s biometric verification and registration procedures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Commission subsequently undertook a review of the disputed entries to establish their authenticity and remove registrations found to be invalid.
Amupitan said the 54 officials identified across 10 states would face possible disciplinary measures, including prosecution, where investigations establish their culpability.
The commission said it would publish the cleaned-up register of voters on December 16, 2026, in accordance with the Electoral Act, ahead of the January 16 and February 6, 2027 elections.
INEC has also unveiled fresh measures to prevent a recurrence of the challenges that marred the 2023 general elections. The Commission assured Nigerians that only verified results from polling units will be uploaded to its Results Viewing Portal (IReV) ahead of the 2027 polls.
Already, the Commission has fixed November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections to test upgrades to its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic results transmission.
INEC Chairman, Amupitan, disclosed this last week while speaking on the Commission’s preparations for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, on the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
He said the commission had identified polling centres as the major source of result-management problems during the 2023 elections and was introducing additional checks to ensure that figures were properly verified before transmission. Amupitan said the Commission had learnt important lessons from the previous election and was determined to strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
According to him, the Commission is introducing a new verification process to ensure polling unit results are verified by party agents before they are uploaded to IReV.
Responding to a question on why Nigerians should trust him to conduct credible elections, Amupitan cited the outcomes of recent off-cycle elections, particularly those in Anambra and Osun states, as evidence of improvements under his leadership.
“We decided that whatever is going to be uploaded from the polling unit is accurate. Because in 2023, there were all manner of things: results that were not correct, results that were full of over-voting, while you were uploading on the IReV. But now we have devised a safeguard.
“The moment it goes to IReV, you can believe what you see on IReV. And then this issue of inconsistency will be removed so that what will now be done at the collation will just be a matter of formality,” he said.
Amid the assurances, Amupitan’s sincerity is taken with a pinch of salt. Hence, angry protesters surrounded a vehicle carrying him outside the Chatham House in London on Thursday, November 12, shouting accusations at him and the Commission.
Amupitan was in London to speak at a panel hosted by Chatham House and the Kimpact Development Initiative on Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
Nigerian diaspora activists mobilised on social media and gathered outside the venue, where demonstrators called INEC a “criminal organisation” and accused Amupitan of favouring President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). They demanded his resignation over alleged electoral irregularities, citing duplicate entries and AI-generated images in the preliminary voter register, as well as alleged fake polling units.
During the panel, Amupitan pledged to turn down any political or diplomatic appointment after his tenure at INEC, citing the need to demonstrate his impartiality.
Will Amupitan Resign?
It was gathered that Amupitan is facing mounting pressure to resign fearing the worst for his life and family in and after 2027 elections.
After series of backlash against the chairman for electoral compromises, especially against opposition parties, leading up to the 2027 presidential election, the chairman escaped an attack from angry Nigerian youths abroad who chanted “rig and die” at the electoral body’s chairman.
The angry youths also blocked his vehicle surrounded by security men from leaving the vicinity.
One of the visibly angry youths could also be heard yelling at Amupitan and saying, “this is not 2023, it’s rig and die, I no dey fear your papa”.
According to leaked inside reports from one of the closest allies of the INEC chairman, the chairman was terrified by these recent unexpected incidents especially the one that happened in a lawful society like United Kingdom.
His close aide who spoke in anonymity revealed that professor Amupitan is now considering a possible resignation to save his life and family fearing the unknown in the 2027 general elections.
