Why Amupitan Must Divest INEC of Yakubu Era Meddling

Ikenna Ogenna

The period spanning November 9, 2015 through October 7, 2025 stands out in the history of Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was not only spectacular on the account of public exasperation that defined it, rather it represented the mindboggling indifference to purpose and connivance that should not be associated with a truly impartial body.

When Professor Mahmood Yakubu assumed office as the new Chairman of INEC, Nigerians were torn between exultation and exasperation. The mixed feelings arose out of the outcome of the 2015 presidential election, which brought in retired General Muhammadu Buhari into office. On one hand there was relief that after so long a time the country appeared to be ready to right the wrongs on its democratic journey.

 It was the first time in the history of Nigeria’s democracy that an incumbent President yielded power and actually conceded defeat to the opposing political party. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan did not make history by showing that democracy can reinvent itself in Nigeria merely by calling and congratulating Buhari midway into the ballot collation process. He showed even before the election that faith in the electoral process should be undergirded by principled executive action.

By appointing Professor Attahiru Jega as INEC chairman despite concerns by stakeholders of his party, Jonathan laid the foundation for peaceful and credible transition of power in a democracy. Notwithstanding the antics of the electoral commission under Jega’s watch, particularly in the area of polling unit delineation and alleged ballot inflation during the presidential poll, Jega scored what many Nigerians considered as a pass mark. 

At his appointment on September 21, 2015, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was expected to raise the bar a notch higher than he met it, being like Jega, an academic. But, on his first trial during the Kogi State governorship election in November 2015, Prof. Yakubu squandered what was an opportunity to make a good first impression. 

Unfortunately, that trail of uninspiring leadership and monumental lack of excellence continued all through the 10 years that the new Ambassador to Qatar held sway in INEC. That period was remarkable for the complaints of insider breaches and lethargy in taking determined decisions to ensure integrity of elections, but above all the fidelity to the rules and regulations of political parties.

Two specific happenstances impelled this this intervention. One was that judgment by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of an Abuja Federal High Court, last Friday. Ruling on a matter brought to the court by a former presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu against the leadership of Senator David Mark and ADC, Justice Abdulmalik held that “the issue borders on the internal affairs of a political, which is not justiciable.”  

It is on record that when a similar case involving claimants in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) happened during Prof Yakubu’s time as INEC Chairman, the commission not only vacillated in carrying out the informed legal opinion of the court, but also did all in his power to render the matter academic. 

The second trigger was the letter addressed to Prof Amupitan by the Chairman of National Rescue Movement (NRM), Chief Edozie Njoku, asking INEC to put effect to the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, which ordered recognition of the National Working Committee of NRM. 

In the letter, NRM leadership regretted that “one year after the Federal High Court order of January 16, 2025, to monitor the January 17, 2025 Emergency National Convention and the final judgment of March 5, 2025,” INEC was yet to comply.

It noted that the ruling in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025) referenced INEC on the need to comply and recognize the rightful and legitimate national executives of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).

By the wordings of the letter to the INEC chairman, particularly with the approach of the crucial 2027 general election, which has similar ranking with the 2015 historic poll conducted by Prof Jega, one wonders whether Prof Amupitan truly recognizes the place of INEC under his watch in the unfolding national concerns for impartiality and surefootedness.

As someone who has been following Nigeria’s elections and democratic transitions since 1979, it bears repeating the fact that unless INEC conducts itself in such a way for Nigerians to perceive its transparency and feel its impartiality, the country’s democracy will remain an issue of particular concern.    

One sure way that INEC would achieve that milestone is by heeding the words of Justice Abdulmalik, which echoes similar pronouncements by the country’s court of last instance, the Supreme Court, that the affairs of political parties are beyond the jurisdiction of court. 

NRM’s letter did much to itemize the step by step journey in the attempt to get INEC to behave responsibly as an institution created by law. What is more, as a senior lawyer and law teacher, Professor Joash Amupitan can do better than allow INEC under his watch to engage in the pussyfooting over implementation of court orders that defined Yakubu’s era.

 That expectation could explain the tenor of NRM’s letter, especially when the party referenced Amupitan’s experience as a scholar in the law profession.   Part of the letter read: “Distinguished Professor, you are not only a respected scholar of law, but also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a custodian of the noble traditions of justice and the rule of law. 

“The issues surrounding the leadership of the National Rescue Movement are not as complex as they have been made to appear. Unfortunately, certain actions by some officials of the Commission have raised concerns within our party regarding the manner in which this matter has been handled.

“It is for this reason that we have deemed it necessary to address this open letter directly to you, as we fear that some of our previous correspondences to the commission may not have reached your attention. The present situation within the NRM therefore presents a clear case study of how vested interests can undermine the authority of the courts and weaken respect for the rule of law. 

“We respectfully urge you to kindly review the Order of the Federal High Court made on January 16, 2025 directing the commission to monitor our Emergency National Convention, as well as the judgment delivered on March 5, 2025 which affirmed the validity and legality of the convention held on January 17, 2025 and directed the commission to recognize the National Executives that emerged therefrom. 

“We further request that the commission examine the date on which the purported NEC meeting was held and subsequently relied upon to recognize another individual as National Chairman, despite the fact that the suit was already pending before the court.”

Critics have pointed to Prof Amupitan’s ethnic affinity with President Bola Atinubu, who appointed him as INEC chair to express reservations that the former law professor may not have similar latitude as Prof Jega to ensure that all sides to the emerging multi-party electoral contest play on a level turf. 

Although some misguided fanatics had called on the INEC chairman to resign for his very scholarly and insightful position on the vexed issue of whether the killings in Nigeria should be described as genocide or just merely blood-letting banditry by economically displaced urchins, one is convinced that Prof Amupitan knows his onions as far as law is involved. 

Consequently, in the mixed facts and law that INEC has to grapple with in its dealings with political parties, the learned Chairman should adopt the stance of the lady justice armed with the balance and insisting that the law rules in all things. 

However, going through the depositions of NRM, this writer is inclined to believe that Prof Amupitan does not seem to have been well acquainted with the salient points raised by the party, especially given that he just took over from Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu on October 16, 2025-barely four months. 

NRM’s complaints, though long winding, deserve official attention, if nothing else, to demonstrate that the absence of ill will or disaffection and determination to be fair to all sides. The party explained that it decided to approach the Federal High Court, Abuja, when the commission declined to monitor its emergence national convention, stressing that the court found merit in its depositions and ordered the commission to monitor the January 7, 2025 convention.

The matter of interest to the INEC chairman is to find out since the events took place before his appointment, whether the commission was properly joined in the Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025, as well as whether the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court order was duly served on INEC on January 16, 2025.

Based on the details of the MRN letter, it could be said that Prof Amupitan has been put on the public square to show how far INEC under his watch can go to ensure that no valid claim would be ignored by taking a decision.

 Inviting the chairman to intervene, NRM stated: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, the National Rescue Movement (NRM), writes to respectfully bring to the attention of the Commission certain facts and developments that transpired before and after the said judgment.

“On December 18, 2024, the then National Chairman of our party, Ambassador Isaac Chigozie Udeh—whose name was duly recognized and published on the Commission’s website—wrote to the Commission giving the statutory 21-day notice of the party’s Emergency National Convention (ENC). The purpose of the convention was primarily to address the lopsidedness within the executive structure of the party.

“Subsequently, the party duly notified the Commission of the postponement of the Emergency National Convention from January 13, 2025, to January 17, 2025.

“The Commission, through its letters dated January 9 and January 10, 2025, responded to the party’s notification and took the position that the notice issued by the NRM did not constitute proper notice, and consequently declined to monitor the Emergency National Convention scheduled for January 17, 2025.”

 Although INEC has conducted the Anambra State gubernatorial poll after Prof Amupitan’s ascension to the office as chairman, this matter of reconciliation of NRM leadership presents as the first acid test for his mental acuity for dispute resolution. 

 Like Prof Yakubu before him, Prof Amupitan took over from a female acting chairman. But, unlike his predecessor, it is not likely that INEC under the incumbent chairman would drop the ball in reputation management and public perception.

*Dr. Ogenna, a socio-political analyst, writes from Keffi, Nasarawa State.