Senate to Screen Amupitan, INEC Chair Nominee Thursday 

* Dickson flays Bayelsa Gov’s defection

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

The Senate will Thursday, October 16, 2025, screen of Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), the nominee of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the position of Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

A statement issued Wednesday by the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary, Research and Information Department of the National Assembly, Mr. Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, said the exercise will take place at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

According to the statement, television stations are expected to broadcast the event live.

President Tinubu had, last week, transmitted the nomination of Amupitan to the Senate for confirmation as the new INEC Chairman, following the expiration of the tenure of his predecessor.

The screening is expected to attract keen national interest, given the pivotal role of the electoral umpire in Nigeria’s democratic process.

Meanwhile, a former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, has pledged to support Amupitan’s appointment during the screening.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Dickson, who represents Bayelsa West in the Senate, and a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, said he had conducted his own assessment of Amupitan’s qualifications and integrity and found him competent to lead reforms at the electoral body.

He said: “I believe that a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, conscious of his standing in the academic and legal community, will have something to work for.

“With everyone’s support, he should be able to introduce the reforms we need in our electoral system and within INEC itself.

“A person of his calibre should understand that beyond the judgment of men and of the courts, there is also the judgment of God and of posterity. I believe he will do things differently. That is why I will be supporting his nomination.”

Reacting to the defection of Governor Douye Diri, the senator warned that defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot resolve the crisis tearing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) apart, insisting that the opposition must be preserved to sustain Nigeria’s democracy.

He said the ongoing wave of defections from the PDP was unfortunate and misguided, arguing that party leaders must stay back to fix the very problems they created.

According to him, “We all know the PDP has issues, but those issues should be solved by its leaders. They are the ones who created them.

“I remain standing in the PDP, the party that gave my people and the Niger Delta the opportunity to produce a vice-president, an acting president, and a president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This other party cannot do that.”

The senator stressed that abandoning the PDP for the APC would weaken the democratic process. 

“There must always be opposition. A democracy without opposition ceases to be a democracy; it becomes dictatorship and totalitarianism,” he said.

Dickson’s remarks came amid the silence of the PDP national secretariat following the defection of Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, to the APC. 

Diri’s exit occurred barely 24 hours after Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah also dumped the opposition party.

Both Diri and Mbah were key figures in preparations for the party’s forthcoming national convention scheduled for November 15 in Ibadan. 

Diri chaired the zoning committee that recommended the 2027 presidential ticket for the south, while Mbah served as Secretary of the National Convention Organising Committee.

Dickson revealed that the governor had consulted him several times before making his decision but said he was not persuaded that switching parties was justifiable.

“Since I left office, unlike others, I have not played godfather. I made no requests, no demands, no pressure. 

“I have only been available for consultation and advice. In this case, the governor consulted me several times, to his credit. I was not convinced because I saw no compelling reason for a second-term governor to defect,” Dickson stated.

The senator clarified that being in opposition should not translate to opposing the government at all costs. 

He said credible policies or appointments by the ruling party should be supported in the national interest.

Despite the defections and silence at the PDP headquarters, Dickson maintained that loyal members must stay back to rebuild the party and protect Nigeria’s democratic balance.