THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on Professor Joash Amupitan to resign as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), warning that it will embark on civil disobedience if he remains in office.
News Point Nigeria reports that the opposition party, which has consistently rated Amupitan poorly, made the demand while reacting to fresh allegations surrounding his alleged partisanship.
Amupitan has recently come under intense scrutiny over purported old social media posts suggesting bias in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In response to the controversy, Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, issued a statement cautioning the public about impersonators and cybercriminals allegedly using fake identities to spread misinformation.
He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment under Amupitan’s leadership to conduct free, fair, and credible elections, urging Nigerians to rely only on verified communication channels from the commission.
However, the controversy gained significant momentum after US-based Nigerian scholar, Farooq Kperogi, published a column alleging that archived posts from an X account bearing Amupitan’s name revealed pro-APC sentiments. Some of the posts were also perceived as expressing support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Kperogi, who shared excerpts of the column on his X handle, argued that the alleged posts undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the electoral umpire and called on the INEC Chairman to step down.
The publication quickly sparked widespread reactions on social media, with Nigerians sharply divided over the authenticity and implications of the alleged old tweets.
Reacting to the development on Saturday, ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi described the allegations as deeply troubling.
“The recent revelation linking a pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu tweet of 2023 to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Amupitan, is not merely disturbing, it is a grave affront to the integrity of our electoral system,” Abdullahi said.
“In a democracy, the umpire must be above suspicion. He must not only be independent, he must also be seen, beyond any reasonable doubt, to be independent. That is the minimum standard required of anyone entrusted with the sacred duty of conducting free and fair elections,” he added.
Abdullahi further alleged that attempts had been made to tamper with digital records in order to erase evidence of previous partisanship, describing the situation as more alarming.
“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 stated.
He maintained that any individual who manipulates records to protect personal interests cannot be trusted with safeguarding the electoral mandate of millions of Nigerians.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
Using a vivid analogy, he added, “The referee cannot be running around in the shirt of one of the teams he’s supposed to officiate in a match.”
The ADC spokesperson insisted that Amupitan must resign immediately, warning that failure to do so would undermine public trust in the democratic process.
“This is why Professor Amupitan must resign. Now. Anything less is an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy,” he declared.
Abdullahi further disclosed that the party would update its petitions to relevant institutions, including foreign governments and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
“We will also renew and escalate our civil disobedience action until the INEC Chairman leaves office,” he added.