*Raises Alarm Over INEC’s Integrity
The National Public Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi has called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan.
This was contained in a post via Abdullahi’s X account on Saturday, following a viral social media post suggesting that the INEC chairman had previously endorsed a political position online
Abdullahi said these recent allegations linking the INEC chairman to a pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu tweet from 2023 have raised serious concerns about his neutrality.
He explained that in a democracy, the electoral body must be fully independent and must also be seen as fair by the public. According to him, any sign of political bias can damage trust in the system.
Abdullahi also highlighted attempts to alter digital records to remove evidence of the chairman’s past political views.
“However, more troubling is the desperate attempt to tamper with digital records, to erase evidence of his previous partisanship.
“This is not a trivial matter. It is a calculated assault on truth and accountability.” he wrote.
According to him, Professor Amupitan has, through his actions and statements, fallen below the standard expected of someone in charge of elections.
For this reason, he has called for his resignation, adding that anything less would be unfair to Nigerians and harmful to democracy.
“A man who manipulates records to save himself cannot be trusted to safeguard the mandate of millions.
“Over the past few days, it has been repeatedly revealed that Professor Amupitan, by his conduct, his utterances, and now by incontrovertible digital evidence, has fallen far below the standard expected of an electoral umpire. The referee cannot be running around in the shirt of one of the teams he’s supposed to officiate in a match.
“This is why Professor Amupitan must resign.”
The ADC also said it plans to take further action by updating its petitions to relevant institutions, including international bodies and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He added that it will continue its civil disobedience efforts until the INEC chairman steps down.
“ADC will be updating our petitions to all relevant institutions, including to foreign governments and the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA.
We will also renew and escalate our civil disobedience action until the INEC Chairman leaves office.”