The Matters Arising From The INEC Chairman’s Warning And Segun Sowunmi’s Threats To Nigerians -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, warned Nigerians and media organizations at a world press conference at the International Conference Center (ICC), Abuja, during a national stakeholders’ meeting marking 100 days to the 2027 general elections, that it is only the commission that has the legal authority to declare election results. The INEC chairman was reiterating the statement he made earlier during a three-day strategic workshop the commission organized jointly with the Nigerian Guild of Editor themed: “strengthening Democracy through Partnership among Editors, Civil Society and Electoral Institutions” at BON Hotel Octagon, Jahi District, Abuja, wherein he emphasized that it is the exclusive authority of INEC to declare national election results while strongly urging the media organizations to avoid publishing privately collated figures and respect the constitutional mandate given to INEC to declare election results.

Why does the INEC chairman worry about whose responsibility it is to announce the elections result? Is anybody or any agency competing with him? Does he have any other agenda apart from conducting free, fair and credible election? It is the responsibility of the commission to do voters’ education, how much of this has he done with the election barely 85 days away. Clearly, since taking office as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on October 23, 2025, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, has faced significant public scrutiny, administrative challenges, and several notable controversies. And Joash Amupitan has not convinced anyone that he is truly independent and non-partisan. When he was appointed, there was nationwide opposition to his appointment based on his previous partisan engagement. And the steps he has taken so far shows that he is doing the biddings of the president.

Indeed, there is no iota doubt from all of these threats and warnings to Nigerians and the opposition parties that the INEC chairman is under intense pressure to do the bidding of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu. For instance, he redeployed Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi, the wife of Segun Sowunmi, the APC presidential campaign council (PCC) spokesperson, from INEC’s office in Lagos where she serves as the Administrative Secretary to INEC’s Headquarters in Abuja to head Electoral Operations Department ahead of the 2027 general election. And when you read the job description of the Electoral Operations Department of the Independent National Electoral Commission, you will guest what the APC is planning to do.

There is no gainsaying that the INEC chairman’s warning was a subtle threat to Nigerians meant to cow Nigerians into accepting whatever that the INEC would announce as the outcome of the result of the 2027 presidential election. And it was pre-planned by the ruling APC and that was why Segun Sowunmi followed with his own obtrusive statement of threat to Nigerians. Is Segun Sowumni part of INEC? Why would it be his duty to speak for INEC? The presidency has always spoken at different times in defense of INEC showing that INEC is doing their bidding. Does it surprise anyone that Segun Sowunmi wife, Oluyemi Sowunmi is in charge of operations at INEC headquarters? What would anyone expect from such appointment?

By threatening Nigerians, Segun Sowunmi has directly told Nigerians what we know already: that the APC will not win the election but will use the INEC to subvert the will of the electorate. He is making it clear that they want to manipulate the result. But, they want pre-warn the people to preempt revolt and resistance. But he has failed because Nigerians will resist every attempt to rig the election this time round.

The APC camp is in constant fear of defeat, hunted of course, by the ghost of failure of governance. They have gathered all the governors, borrowed as much as they can, stockpiled funds for vote-buying and yet they are afraid because they know Nigerians are not willing to endure the APC-imposed hardship beyond 2027. Yes, fear and desperation is quite evident in Tinubu’s political camp right now and they are doing everything they can induce voters’ apathy so as to have their way. But it won’t work for them. Nigerians are tired of the APC threats, intimidation and pains. They will vote and defend their votes despite the intimidations and harassments.

Segun Sowunmi must be told that, no law prohibits collating the results at the polling units and at wards. The parties and their agents will collate their results and know what they polled before INEC’s announcement. And so the only people that will go to jail is Sowunmi and his ilk that will attempt to change the result. The treasonable offence here is an attempt to change the will of the people.

By using M. K. O Abiola and June 12 as a reference point, Segun Sowunmi has directly told Nigerians that Abiola never won any election as generally believed because the result of the June 12, 1993 election was not officially released by NECON. It was M. K. O that declared himself the winner. History will note that. So, all the June 12 events were show of shame and hypocrisy.

Every year by June 12, Tinubu and his people will gather to amuse themselves about democracy that they don’t believe in. They will rhapsodize about the freest and fairest election ever organized in the country and yet indulge in worst electoral malfeasance. They will grandstand about human rights in the past and yet cannot tolerate civil advocacy and opposition. Tinubu and his people have demonstrated the worst form of hypocrisy.

Nigerians will surprise Joash Amupitan and Segun Sowunmi come 2027. They will publish the right result if the INEC fails to do so. Not even the attempt to bribe the editors of the mainstream media houses will stop it. This is not the first time that it is happening. Sam Mbakwe of the old Imo State announced his own result and forestalled FEDECO from announcing an already prepared result. Jim Nwobodo didn’t and was rigged out and replaced by C. C. Onoh and so was Adekunle Ajasin by Akin Omoboriowo, his deputy who defected from the UPN to the NPN, in 1983. And in 2027, history will repeat itself if INEC and the APC attempts to subvert the will of the electorate by announcing a fake presidential election result. Nobody will tolerate it. Nigerians will not go to the kangaroo courts to waste time. Nigerians will stick by the authentic results garnered from the about 176000 polling units across the nation. Long live Nigeria!

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK.