By Sesan Peter, PhD
In times like this when our democracy is tested not by the absence of institutions but by waning public trust, leadership at electoral umpire level must go beyond ethnic balance or political appeasement. It must be rooted in proven integrity, intellectual competence and moral courage. That is why the appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves fair scrutiny, not the manufactured controversies currently circulating over supposed “grey areas” in his CV.
Those who truly know the man will agree: there are no grey areas in his character. I say this not as a distant observer but as someone who has known Professor Amupitan for 24 years, first as a student at the University of Jos and later as his junior colleague. We have travelled together extensively across Nigeria. For the past eight years, every time we travelled, we shared the same room, the same routine, and yes, even the same bed. There is hardly a human being whose private life I know more closely. If there was any dark corner in his life, I would have seen it. There is none.
He is not your typical Nigerian public figure. He is calm yet firm, God-fearing yet pragmatic, detribalised yet proudly Nigerian. He relates easily with Northerners, Southerners, Christians, Muslims and even those who profess no religion at all. Not because he is trying to build political capital but because fairness is natural to him.
Those obsessed with “grey areas” in his CV are missing the point. While they are scanning documents, he is already scanning the real grey areas within INEC: the loopholes in logistics, the lapses in legal procedures and the widening gap in voter confidence.
Contrary to insinuations, Uncle Joash, as we fondly call him, is not a political pawn. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Iowa, 2004, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, expert in election petition litigation and respected academic with administrative experience as Pro-Chancellor of Joseph Ayo Babalola University.
His expertise in corporate governance will be invaluable in reforming INEC’s internal structure. His firm grasp of the Law of Evidence suggests that under him, electoral results will not only be declared, they will be verifiable. His deep immersion in Nigeria’s political and legal environment means he understands the weaknesses of the judiciary and the subtle pressures that compromise institutions.
However, INEC does not merely need an intellectual, it needs a reformer. The office demands courage under pressure, humility in leadership and transparency in process.
Professor Amupitan possesses the discernment, discipline and restraint that such a role requires. He is unassuming but firm, approachable but principled, detribalised and nationally minded. He has friends across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, not out of political strategy but because he sees people before ethnicity or religion.
Yet, let us be realistic: this role will test him. INEC is not a lecture hall. It is the collision point where law meets logistics and principle meets power.
To those already campaigning against him, I say respectfully: change your syllabus because he has gone beyond your rhetoric. His eyes are on the ball.
For 24 years, I have watched this man. If there is anyone to entrust with the burden of Nigeria’s electoral future, it is Professor Joash Amupitan. And I say that, not as an analyst but as a witness: the man I have known for 24 years is fit for INEC. He is a round peg in a round hole.
– Sesan Peter, PhD writes from University of Jos.
