The chairman of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has come under pressure following the emergence of a controversial social media post allegedly linked to him.
Last week Friday, the social media was awash after an X account purportedly belonging to Amupitan resurfaced online. The account was said to have expressed support for President Bola Tinubu shortly after INEC declared him winner of the 2023 presidential election.
“Victory is sure,” the account handler had posted.
Though, the chief press secretary/media adviser to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, has since disowned the X account, digital forensic analysis carried out online insisted that the account remains traceable to him as the phone number used to create it was registered in his name—further fueling public suspicion.
Consequently, growing number of Nigerians, including opposition figures have demanded Amupitan’s resignation, expressing loss of confidence in his leadership to conduct credible, free and fair elections in 2027.
In a statement issued on Friday night, Oketola said his principal had no official X account, describing the purported tweet as ‘coordinated campaign of calumny’, adding that the allegation was entirely baseless, a total fabrication, and a figment of the imagination of its purveyors.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) which is opposition coalition, called for the immediate resignation of embattled INEC chairman, alleging partisanship.
“This is why Professor Amupitan must resign. Now. Anything less is an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy,” a statement by the party’s spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, read.
Echoing this stance, ADC lawmakers in the House of Representatives unanimously called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Prof. Amupitan over allegations of partisanship.
The leader of the ADC caucus, Afam Ogene, made this known after a meeting of the group in Abuja on Monday.
He the alleged statements attributed to Amupitan had cast doubt on his ability to be neutral in political contests.
“The caucus raised concerns regarding the impartiality and neutrality of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Joash Amupitan, to oversee a free, fair, and credible 2027 general elections. This follows recent public statements and actions by the chairman that have been deemed compromising, partisan, and conflicted,” Ogene remarked.
Public reaction on social media has also been intense. A social media commenter, Lawrence Ibe, also knocked Amupitan for denying ownership of the X account amid alleged evidence.
He wrote, “This is the number that the INEC chairman used to verify the 2-Factor Authentication registered to his X account, which he has now denied. Please go to Your OPAY or Moniepoint account and verify the name you will see with this same number. I just did.”
“There is no hiding place for Joash Ojo Amupitan. He must resign,” Ibe added.
Another netizen, Ugo Egbujo, backed the call for INEC chairman’s resignation, citing denial of the X account.
“If Amupitan owns the account he has denied then he should resign quietly. Not for supporting Tinubu but for lying openly about the ownership of that Twitter account,” he added.
Meanwhile, INEC has signalled plans to initiate an independent forensic investigation into the resurfacing of controversial tweets.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Morning Brief, the INEC Director of ICT, Lawrence Bayode, said, “We are also going to be engaging the third party, forensic expert to also look at this, we are also looking at it in-house. I know that the commission will engage a third-party forensic expert to also look at this and that will guide the conclusion of the commission.”
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, however, defended Amupitan against allegations of partisan.
Akpabio, who spoke on Tuesday at the inauguration of the corporate headquarters of the National Revenue Service (NRS) in Abuja, refuted claims that the tweet indicated political alignment.
“They brought out a tweet where they said the chairman of INEC said victory is sure. But he didn’t say victory is sure for APC. He did not say victory is sure for PDP. He just said victory is sure,” Akpabio said.
He argued that the post in question was made before Amupitan assumed office as INEC chairman, when he was still a lecturer.
“And the man said that it’s manipulated. Nobody wants to hear. But for me, whether it is manipulated or not, he said ‘victory is sure.
”He was not chairman of INEC. He was just a mere lecturer. Anybody can support anybody who he wishes to,” the senate president added.
Notably, Professor Amupitan has yet to personally address the allegations, maintaining silence as the debate intensifies, deepening public concern over the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral leadership.