Newly confirmed INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has pledged to make Nigeria’s elections credible and transparent, promising systemic reforms, technology audits, and stronger institutional ethics to restore public confidence.
The newly confirmed National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has pledged to deliver elections so credible that “losers will congratulate winners.”
Amupitan made the remark during his screening and subsequent confirmation by the Senate on Thursday, where he was grilled for three hours before being unanimously approved without dissent. “Our ultimate goal is to make elections so credible that even the loser will be able to congratulate the winner in good faith,” he said.
He vowed to audit INEC’s results viewing (IReV) portal to identify glitches that undermined confidence during the 2023 polls and to review the commission’s use of technology in partnership with the NCC and NIMC.
Amupitan also promised to create an Ethics and Compliance Committee to probe electoral misconduct, strengthen internal accountability, and introduce a whistleblower policy within INEC.
On logistics, he said: “We will work with security agencies to protect materials and personnel. If necessary, we can deploy drones to ensure election materials reach their destinations.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the confirmation, urged Amupitan to ensure every vote counts. He succeeds Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who stepped down on October 7 after a decade at the helm of the commission.