The Senate will, today (Thursday), conduct the screening of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan for the position of Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This was disclosed in a circular released on Wednesday by the Senate’s Director of Information, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, and circulated to journalists in Abuja.
The screening comes less than 24 hours after Senate President Godswill Akpabio read a letter from President Bola Tinubu on the Senate floor, requesting swift confirmation of Amupitan’s nomination.
Part of the circular stated: “The Office of the Secretary, Research and Information wishes to notify members of the press and the general public that the Senate will on Thursday, 16th October, 2025, conduct the screening of the nominee of President Bola Tinubu, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, as INEC Chairman. The event will take place at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly Complex.”
Media outlets, including television stations and the Senate Press Corps, were urged to ensure broad coverage of the proceedings.
Amupitan’s nomination—endorsed last week by the National Council of State—signals a major leadership change for INEC following the departure of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who served for 10 years.
In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu said the appointment was made in accordance with Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and he urged the Senate to give it prompt attention.
“I am pleased to present for confirmation by the Senate the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission,” the President wrote.
The nomination comes at a politically charged moment, with ongoing debates about INEC’s independence and performance in recent elections. While the Presidency has described Amupitan as “an apolitical figure of impeccable integrity,” opposition parties and civil society groups have called for a thorough and transparent confirmation process.
Today’s screening is expected to be closely monitored nationwide, as it is likely to shape the tone of future electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Meanwhile, the Northern Nigeria Minorities Group has cautioned against attempts to ethnicise the nomination. In a statement issued Tuesday in Kaduna, the group’s Convener, Chief Jacob Edi, expressed concern over “divisive commentaries and social media attacks” questioning the President’s selection of the Kogi-born legal scholar.
Edi emphasized that Amupitan, an indigene of the Okun ethnic group in Kogi State, hails from one of the minority nationalities in the North, and that his appointment should be viewed as a milestone rather than a controversy.
“We view with consternation the ongoing attempts by certain individuals and interest groups to ethnicise the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of the nomination, Edi noted, “This is the first time in 65 years—since Nigeria established a statutory electoral commission in 1959—that someone from a northern minority group has been appointed to lead it.”
He described attempts to frame the nomination as ethnic favoritism as “false, dangerous, and inimical to national unity,” urging Nigerians to focus instead on merit and national interest.
