INEC: In my time, losers’ll congratulate winners — Amupitan

National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, commenced his role on an optimistic note yesterday, promising that during his leadership, elections will be conducted with such integrity that those who lose will extend congratulations to the victors.

Nonetheless, Amupitan stated that he would achieve this through collaboration with key organizations such as the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, among others. He addressed the Senate both before and after they ratified his appointment by President Bola Tinubu as the chairman of INEC.

“Our primary objective is to ensure elections are conducted with such integrity that even those who do not win can sincerely congratulate their opponents, similar to how a judge issues a verdict that is embraced as equitable by both parties,” he explained to the legislators while responding to a query.

Amupitan’s appointment followed a thorough screening process in the Senate, where lawmakers interrogated the nominee of President Tinubu for three hours, to which he provided responses.

Following the questioning in the Committee of the Whole, the Senate returned to plenary, where Senate President Senator Godswill Akpabio inquired if the confirmation represented the views of the House, and the affirmative response was overwhelming.

Akpabio noted that Amupitan received unanimous approval and urged the INEC leader to guarantee that every ballot is counted in upcoming elections.

With this confirmation, Amupitan takes over from Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who had led the electoral commission for a decade before resigning on October 7.

Amupitan entered the chamber at 12.50 pm after Senate Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) proposed that Order 12 be lifted to permit non-members into the chamber, a motion seconded by Senate Minority Leader Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South).

Before he introduced himself to the Senators for the question-and-answer segment, Senate President Akpabio mentioned that the nominee had been vetted and cleared by the Department of State Services, DSS, along with the National Security Adviser, NSA, and the Inspector-General of Police, IGP after undergoing background checks and fingerprinting.

Responding to a range of inquiries from the Senators, Amupitan, a Professor of Law from Kogi, indicated: “I did not lead the legal representation for the President at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. I also did not participate in the Tribunal at either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.” He added that he was not associated with the legal teams of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or Labour Party, LP.