President Bola Tinubu has officially communicated with the Senate, requesting the confirmation of Professor Joash Amupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The request was presented on the Senate floor by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary session on Tuesday.
Akpabio also conveyed additional communications from the President concerning appointments that necessitate legislative approval.
As stated in the letter, the nomination aligns with the constitutional provisions that require Senate confirmation for such appointments.
The request has been forwarded to the committee of the whole for further legislative review.
Last Thursday, the President submitted Amupitan’s name as his preferred candidate to occupy the leadership position at the electoral commission.
The Council of State unanimously endorsed the nomination of Amupitan as the next INEC Chairman, following the departure of Mahmood Yakubu.
Tinubu informed the council that Amupitan, a native of Kogi state in the north-central geopolitical zone, is the first individual from the state to be nominated for the position of INEC chairman.
According to a statement from the presidential spokesman, Tinubu characterized the nominee as an “apolitical” individual.
Council members, including former heads of state, unanimously supported the nomination. Usman Ododo, the governor of Kogi state, also referred to Amupitan as a “man of integrity”.
Amupitan, 58, is a law professor at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) in Plateau state, where he additionally holds the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (administration).
