Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), a renowned legal scholar and administrator, has emerged as the likely successor to Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to SaharaReporters, President Bola Tinubu directed Yakubu to proceed on terminal leave months before the expiration of his second tenure in December 2025. Insider sources described the move as fallout from what the presidency allegedly viewed as Yakubu’s “last-minute betrayal” of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The directive followed a closed-door meeting between Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and the president. Uzodimma reportedly accused Yakubu of covertly backing a candidate in the Imo governorship election and attempting to register new political parties, a move seen as disruptive to Tinubu’s second-term strategy.
The decision caused immediate disruptions at INEC, forcing the abrupt cancellation of Yakubu’s scheduled consultative meetings with political parties and civil society organisations.
Tinubu is expected to forward his preferred candidate to the National Assembly in the coming days, with Prof. Amupitan widely tipped for the role.
Who is Prof. Amupitan?
A native of Ijumu LGA in Kogi State, Prof. Amupitan boasts over three decades of legal and academic experience. He joined the University of Jos in 1989, becoming a Professor of Law in 2008 and later rising to Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration).
He has served on the Governing Councils of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, the Council of Legal Education, and currently chairs the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) since 2014, his expertise spans corporate governance, evidence law, electoral reforms, and privatisation.
Yakubu, first appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and reappointed in 2020, will complete 10 years in office by December. His sudden exit marks the end of an era and the beginning of Tinubu’s imprint on INEC’s future.
