The National Council of State has approved the nomination of Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, President Bola Tinubu presented Amupitan, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s exit. Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025.
President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi 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’, the statement read.
It added that, in compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu would now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening.
Born on 25 April 1967, the 58-year-old Amupitan hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area. He is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos (Unijos), Plateau State. He is also an alumnus of the university.
He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became SAN in September 2014
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.
Amupitan 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 from 1988 to 1989.
He currently serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
Among the academic positions he has held at Unijos are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).
Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, and a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).
Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008); Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008); Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), Principles of Company Law (2013) and an Introduction to the Law of Trust in Nigeria (2014).
He is married and has four children.
After completing two five-year terms, Yakubu handed over last Tuesday Tuesday to Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will serve as the Acting National Chairman of the electoral commission pending the confirmation of Amupitan’s nomination.
Agbamuche is the oldest serving National Commissioner in the electoral body.
