Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said on Thursday he would refuse any political or diplomatic appointment after leaving office, stressing that the role demands strict impartiality and public trust.
Speaking during a panel discussion at Chatham House titled “Nigeria’s 2027 elections: Democratic trajectory and regional stability beyond the ballot,” Amupitan was asked whether he would follow the path of his predecessor, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who accepted an ambassadorial posting to Qatar from President Bola Tinubu after overseeing the 2023 general election.
“I’m not going to accept any appointment from anybody because coming to serve here is based on trust,” Amupitan said. He added: “And then I took an oath of allegiance, not only to be neutral, but to ensure that the conduct of the election is free, fair, and credible.”
The INEC chairman described his current position as a national assignment. After years in public service, he said he intended to pursue personal interests and explore private-sector opportunities once his tenure ends, noting he understood “where wealth was held.”
Amupitan also addressed preparations for the 2027 general election, acknowledging that controversy over electronic transmission of results in 2023 had damaged public confidence in the commission. He said problems had largely occurred at collation centres rather than polling units.
“We found, for instance, that the problem of election result declaration and management in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit, it’s at the collation centres,” he said.
INEC has introduced new safeguards to block inaccurate polling-unit results from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The commission has also reduced the number of voters assigned to each Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) device from 1,250 to 850 to speed up accreditation and is strengthening collaboration with security agencies to enhance voter safety.
