BREAKING: Tinubu appoints new INEC chairman

President Bola Tinubu has appointed new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The appointment of the new INEC chairman was approved by the The National Council of State on Thursday.

A statement signed by President Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, named the new INEC chairman as Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN) .

The statement reads : “The National Council of State has approved the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from the North-Central as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit. Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025.

“President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi,  North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical.

“Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity.

“In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening.”

Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu LGA  in Kogi State, is a  Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau. He is also an alumnus of the university.

Giving further details on the incoming INEC chairman, the statement said he “specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.

“Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.

“After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.

“He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.”