Prof. Joash Amupitan, the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, is currently appearing before the Senate to be screened and confirmed.
Amupitan, who arrived at the National Assembly complex earlier and exchanged pleasantries with senators, was escorted to the chamber by Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo and other guests.
Senator Abubakar Lado, the Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters (Senate), led the nominee into the Senate chamber around 12:50 p.m. and sat him down before the exercise began.
Amupitan was admitted to the chamber after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) sought to suspend Order 12 to allow strangers to enter, which was seconded by Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South).
Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed Amupitan, his family members, and supporters to the Red Chamber and praised them for their attendance.
Before introducing himself to the Senators for the question-and-answer session, Akpabio informed his colleagues that the nominee had been cleared by the National Security Adviser’s (NSA) office following vetting and fingerprinting.
According to Akpabio, the Department of State Services has also cleared him.
The Senate President further stated that the Office of the Inspector-General of Police cleared him after doing a fingerprint search on him and that he had no criminal history with the police.
The screening exercise began at approximately 12:55 p.m., following Akpabio’s introductory comments, during which he detailed the procedures to be followed by parliamentarians in examining the nominee’s credentials.
Chronicle NG reported that President Bola Tinubu had nominated Amupitam, a Professor of Law from the University of Jos, to succeed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who resigned from his position.
Akpabio read the President’s letter communicating Amupitan’s nomination on the Senate floor during plenary on Tuesday.
Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Jos, is highly acknowledged as an authority in constitutional and international law.
His appointment, however, has elicited varied reactions from civil society groups and political stakeholders, with some advocating for reforms to bolster the electoral body’s independence and openness.
The screening session is expected to center on Amupitan’s vision for trustworthy elections, his ideas for institutional reforms at INEC, and efforts to increase the use of technology in Nigeria’s electoral process.
If confirmed by the Senate, Amupitan would lead preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections and set the basis for the 2027 general elections.
