The Senate will today (Thursday) screen Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan for the position of Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The announcement was contained in a circular issued on Wednesday by the Director of Information for the Senate, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, and made available to newsmen in Abuja.
The development comes barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu’s letter seeking the speedy confirmation of Prof. Amupitan was read on the Senate floor by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
The circular read in part: “The Office of the Secretary, Research and Information wishes to notify members of the press and the general public that the Senate will on Thursday, 16th October, 2025, conduct the screening of the nominee of President Bola Tinubu, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, as INEC Chairman.
“The exercise is scheduled to hold at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly Complex. Members of the Senate Press Corps are kindly requested to provide their usual media coverage and support to ensure adequate dissemination of information to the public. Similarly, television stations are expected to extend the usual courtesies of providing live coverage of the event.”
Prof. Amupitan’s nomination, which followed last week’s endorsement by the National Council of State, marks a significant transition for the electoral body following the exit of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu after a decade at the helm of INEC.
Today’s screening is expected to be closely watched nationwide, as it will set the tone for electoral reforms and test the administration’s commitment to credible polls ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Meanwhile, the Northern Nigeria Minorities Group has warned against attempts by individuals and interest groups to ethicize Amupitan’s appointment.
In a strongly worded statement issued in Kaduna on Tuesday and signed by its Convener, Chief Jacob Edi, the group expressed concern over what it described as “divisive commentaries and social media tirades” questioning President Tinubu’s choice of the Kogi-born scholar.
Chief Edi noted that Prof. Amupitan, an indigene of the Okun ethnic group in Kogi State, represents one of the minority nationalities in northern Nigeria and that his appointment should be celebrated rather than politicized.
“In all these decades, no northern minority group has ever questioned the decisions of successive Heads of State or Presidents to appoint individuals they felt comfortable working with, even when the North-West and North-East held the position consecutively for 15 years,” the statement added.
“The current ethnicisation of Professor Amupitan’s appointment is a direct continuation of that ugly and retrogressive trend, and it must stop,” he declared.
“The appointment of Professor Amupitan should be celebrated as a bold step toward inclusivity, equity, and meritocracy. These are values that must be internalised if we are to strengthen our democracy,” the statement added.
While commending President Tinubu for “recognising the diversity of the North,” the group said the President deserves credit for giving all constituent groups in the region a sense of belonging through his recent appointments.
Punch/Halima Abdulganiyu
