(DDM) — Nigeria’s newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), will officially assume office on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at the INEC national headquarters in Abuja, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the country’s electoral management body.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that the assumption of office will follow immediately after his swearing-in ceremony by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, earlier in the day.
The brief event will symbolize the official handover of authority from the outgoing INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose ten-year tenure ended in October after overseeing two general elections and multiple off-cycle polls across Nigeria.
According to an internal memo issued by Wilfred Ifogah, Deputy Director of Publicity, on behalf of the Director of Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Professor Amupitan will hold his first official meeting with the Commission’s directors at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday in the INEC Conference Hall, Abuja.
The memo further stated that members of the INEC Press Corps have been invited to cover the inauguration and media briefing, signaling the formal transition of leadership within Nigeria’s most critical democratic institution.
Professor Amupitan’s appointment followed President Tinubu’s nomination in September 2025, which was subsequently confirmed by the Senate after a rigorous screening process that examined his academic credentials, professional ethics, administrative capacity, and reform agenda for the electoral body.
The new INEC Chairman is a distinguished academic, constitutional lawyer, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He is the former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Jos, and has served as a consultant on governance, constitutional reform, and electoral law to various local and international agencies.
Professor Amupitan has been widely praised for his strong stance on electoral integrity, transparency, and institutional accountability, values many believe are urgently needed to rebuild public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
His assumption of office comes at a time when INEC faces mounting public pressure to restore credibility, improve election logistics, and enhance the use of technology, following widespread criticism of the 2023 general elections over alleged irregularities, delayed results, and perceived lapses in the deployment of the BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
Under his leadership, Professor Amupitan is expected to lead a comprehensive audit of INEC’s past elections, identify gaps in its operational efficiency, and propose reforms to ensure transparent, free, and fair elections ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Political observers have described his appointment as one of the most consequential in recent years, given the growing demands for electoral reform and institutional independence amid increasing public disillusionment with Nigeria’s political process.
Analysts say Amupitan’s legal expertise will be crucial in tackling issues such as electoral litigation abuse, pre-election disputes, and constitutional ambiguities that have often undermined the nation’s electoral process.
His background as a scholar of constitutional and administrative law positions him to navigate the complex intersection between law, politics, and governance reform.
A source within the commission told DDM that Amupitan intends to “reorganize INEC’s internal structure, promote staff professionalism, and strengthen voter education initiatives to increase civic participation.”
President Tinubu, while announcing his nomination in September, described Amupitan as “a man of integrity and intellectual depth who understands the delicate balance between law and democracy.”
The President expressed confidence that Amupitan would drive reforms that will “restore faith in Nigeria’s elections and align them with international best practices.”
Outgoing INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who has served since 2015, will be remembered for supervising two general elections, in 2019 and 2023, as well as dozens of state and local polls.
While his tenure was marked by technological innovation, including the introduction of BVAS and IReV, it was also marred by controversies over result transmission delays and public mistrust.
Critics argue that despite Yakubu’s efforts, INEC still struggled with logistical challenges, alleged vote suppression, and political interference, issues that now fall squarely on Amupitan’s desk to address.
Civil society groups have welcomed Amupitan’s appointment but cautioned that the new chairman must “build on Yakubu’s innovations while confronting the deep-rooted problems of institutional independence, electoral corruption, and inadequate funding.”
A senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Dr. Jide Ojo, told DDM that Amupitan’s biggest task will be “to win back citizens’ trust, strengthen internal democracy among political parties, and make electoral reforms a national priority before 2027.”
Similarly, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) urged the new INEC chief to prioritize “transparency, inclusivity, and proactive voter engagement,” stressing that “Nigerians must see visible improvements in electoral integrity under his leadership.”
Professor Amupitan’s tenure also begins amid calls for diaspora voting rights, electronic voting reform, and better representation for women and persons with disabilities, all of which will test his administrative will and policy innovation capacity.
With Nigeria approaching crucial off-cycle governorship elections in states such as Edo, Ondo, Anambra, and Kogi, his leadership will immediately come under scrutiny as observers assess how he manages logistics, monitors political actors, and enforces compliance with the Electoral Act 2022.
In his inaugural statement expected after Thursday’s ceremony, Amupitan is likely to outline his vision for institutional integrity, technological modernization, and public accountability, signaling the beginning of what many hope will be a new era of credible elections in Nigeria.