The Clamour For The Sack Of Joash Amupitan And The Stability Of Our Electoral System -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Democracy is a government by elected representatives. And if this is true, it means that should be elections to choose representatives. An electoral or voting system is the process through those eligible to vote decide through their votes who represents them. The electoral system is the backbone of democratic government. The electoral rules, regulations and processes influence voters’ participation and outcomes. Electoral credibility is necessary for the survival of democracy. And free, fair and credible election can only come from a good and reliable electoral system. A bad electoral system will jeopardize democracy and create apathy in the minds of the voters.

Thus, nobody is surprised about the concerns raised by Nigerians about the suitability of the current Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan to head the commission. Since Mahmood Yakubu’s faux pas in the last election in 2023, a lot of questions and issues have been raised Nigerians concerning INEC and the process of deciding who becomes its chairman in future.  And since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Prof. Joash Amupitan as the INEC chairman following the expiration of the tenure of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu many Nigerians have questioned albeit in a suppressed mode, his suitability to occupy the office.

But, in the last one month, the clamor for his resignation or sack has been on every lips except on those of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The current call for his sack was triggered he meddled in the internal affairs of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), obtrusively removing the names of the party leaders from the INEC website ostensibly in obedience to nebulous court order that he unilaterally interpreted; a move many believed was sponsored by the ruling party whose intention is to destabilize opposition and turn the country into one-party state.

The action of the INEC chairman has generated controversy in the public domain, prompting the opposition and members of the public into probing deeper about his neutrality. And the result is pouring in and there seems to be no end in sight until Amupitan resigns or sacked. The presidency has not made any statement concerning the raging controversy about the INEC charman’s conduct and allegation of partisanship.

The opposition has allegedly produced evidence of the INEC chairman’s partisan comments in support of the APC during the 2023 general election arguing that Amupitan past activities undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the electoral umpire and therefore called on the INEC chairman to resign with immediate effect. The opposition claims that Prof. Joash Amupitan made several tweets celebrating the APC’s victory in the 2023 election. And in one of the tweets, he wrote: “today, I rejoice not just for delivering my polling unit, but for winning 10 out of the 7 polling units in my nearly Igbo dominated community where APC has never won. This time, I sat with the youth of the community and forged a partnership”. Furthermore, some social media activists have gone ahead to dig up information that the link to an X-account which was used by him in the past indicates that he is part of the ruling APC raising many questions about his suitability for the office that requires a neutral, unbiased, non-partisan person. There were screenshot showing emails, phone numbers, Opay and BVN which were circulated as proof of ownership of the said X-account.

But, Prof. Joash Amupitan has long denied the allegation of partisanship and a link to the said X-account, where the tweets were made, stating that the allegation is false and intended to discredit his office. And the INEC that initially denied that the INEC chairman does not operate an X-account has hurriedly issued a statement (after it claimed it hired an independent cyber security audit firm for a forensic audit) unilaterally clearing its chairman of any wrong doing, dismissing the allegations against its chairman as baseless. The statement declared that the said account @joashamupitan and all posts attributed to the INEC chairman were fake and forensically unverifiable.

But, this sounds quite absurd. And statement seems to amplify the call for Prof. Joash Amupitan to go. And in a civilized environment Amupitan should step aside. His integrity and credibility is in question. How can INEC adjudicate in its own case? They did not disclose the audit firm involved in the said forensic audit. There was obviously no consistency and transparency in the said forensic audit. For instance the said report should have been released using the letterhead of the audit firm rather that of INEC independent.

There is no gainsaying that a good electoral system is needed to sustain our democracy. The electorate need to be assured that their vote must count. And this cannot only be done when the electoral umpire remains neutral and unbiased. The position of the INEC chairman trust, integrity neutrality. The allegation or perception of bias can erode public confidence, therefore this concerns should thoroughly investigated and addressed conclusively.

That the presidency has not made any statement or made effort to investigate the grave allegations against the INEC chairman indicates that the allegations might be true: Prof. Joash Amupitan is guilty as charged and should go. There is this allegation that Tinubu does not appoint credible people except those with crooked record that he can manipulate. Under Tinubu our public institutions are made very weak through mediocrity and nepotism. Nigeria needs strong institutions to sustain our democracy. The appointment of INEC chairman and some agencies like Police, ICPC, EFCC that are supposed to be neutral in the execution of their mandate should not be left in the hands of the presidency alone.

Finally, I suggest that while we intensify the call for Amupitan sack, we must also renew the call for a review of the electoral law if we must have a free, fair and credible election in 2027. I also recommend that we revisit Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform recommendations.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed 

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK