The National Council of State has unanimously approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following the end of tenure of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who served from 2015 to October 2025.
The decision was reached on Thursday during the Council’s meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Amupitan’s name as the nominee to lead the electoral body.
President Tinubu told the Council that Professor Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, represents the North-Central region and is the first person from the state to be nominated for the INEC top job. He described the nominee as a respected academic, a man of proven integrity, and a legal mind with deep understanding of governance and electoral law.
Council members unanimously endorsed the President’s choice, with Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, describing the appointment as “a victory for competence, merit, and national inclusiveness.”
Following the Council’s approval, President Tinubu is expected to transmit Professor Amupitan’s name to the Senate for confirmation, in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
Professor Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2014, is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, Plateau State, where he has served in various academic and administrative capacities for over three decades. He is also the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State.
A seasoned scholar and jurist, Amupitan specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law. His academic journey began at the University of Jos, where he earned his LL.B in 1987, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988. He obtained his LL.M in 1993 and later completed his Ph.D. in Law in 2007.
Before his academic career, Amupitan served with the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation during his National Youth Service (1988–1989). He joined the University of Jos in 1989 as a lecturer and rose through the ranks to become Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008–2014) and Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012–2014).
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Outside academia, he has held numerous leadership and advisory positions. He served on the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Council of Legal Education (2008–2014). He has also been a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited, Vom, and Riss Oil Limited, Abuja.
A prolific author, Amupitan has published several authoritative texts on law, including Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), and Principles of Company Law (2013).
Married with four children, Professor Amupitan’s appointment is seen as a strategic step toward strengthening Nigeria’s electoral process and ensuring continuity in INEC’s institutional reforms.
With Senate confirmation pending, expectations are high that his tenure will build on previous efforts to enhance transparency, credibility, and technological advancement in Nigeria’s elections.