On 9 October 2025, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu nominated Prof Joash Amupitan as the new chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Amupitan is a lawyer and deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Jos, Nigeria.
He is set to replace Mahmood Yakubu, who stepped down in early October, a month before his tenure officially ended.
Yakubu was still the Inec chair when the commission declared Tinubu the winner of the country’s 2023 presidential election. But the opposition challenged this outcome in court.
On 6 September of that year, the presidential election petition tribunal dismissed the opposition’s bid and upheld Tinubu’s victory.
Shortly after the announcement of Amupitan’s nomination, several social media posts claimed that he was the lead counsel for Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the tribunal.”
One such post, dated 10 October 2025, reads: “The newly appointed INEC Chairman, Prof. Amupitan, previously served as lead counsel to the APC and President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. It’s evident that Tinubu has appointed a close ally to head the commission a move that could potentially compromise the neutrality and credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process in 2027.”
The APC has endorsed Tinubu as its candidate for the country’s 2027 presidential election.
But did Amupitan represent Tinubu and the APC at the tribunal?
No truth to the claim
With the local media and the public closely watching Tinubu’s moves ahead of the 2027 elections, it would’ve made headlines if he had nominated his former lead counsel to such a crucial position. But we found no reports of this from any credible media house.
Africa Check reviewed the certified true copy of the tribunal’s judgment and found that Amupitan was not part of Tinubu’s legal team.
The president’s lead counsel was Wole Olanipekun, while the APC’s lead counsel was Lateef Fagbemi.
Amupitan was not a part of the legal team for Tinubu nor the APC at the presidential election petition tribunal.
The false claim also appeared here, here, here, here and here.
Credit: Africa Check
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