Tinubu names Prof Joash Amupitan as new INEC chairman

Amupitan
Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan

By Seyi Gesinde

October 9, 2025

Council of State endorses appointment; first Kogi-born nominee to head Nigeria’s electoral commission awaits Senate confirmation

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from the North-Central region as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following the expiration of Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s tenure, which ran from 2015 to October 2025.

The announcement was made after the National Council of State endorsed Amupitan’s nomination during its meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

President Tinubu described Prof. Amupitan as the first person from Kogi State to be nominated for the position of INEC Chairman, noting that he is “apolitical, upright, and well-grounded in law and governance.”

The Council members unanimously supported the appointment, with Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo commending the nominee as “a man of integrity, discipline, and sound character.”

In line with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President will transmit Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

Profile of Professor Joash Amupitan

Born on April 25, 1967, in Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Prof. Amupitan is a distinguished legal scholar and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), conferred in September 2014. He is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, Plateau State, and also serves as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.

He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law. Amupitan attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin (1982–1984), before proceeding to the University of Jos, where he earned his LL.B (1987), LL.M (1993), and Ph.D (2007). He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988.

After his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation (1988–1989), Amupitan began his academic career at the University of Jos in 1989.

Academic and professional leadership

Amupitan has held several leadership positions in academia, including:

Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Jos (2008–2014)

Chairman, Committee of Deans and Directors (2012–2014)

Head, Department of Public Law (2006–2008)

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Outside the university, he serves as a Board Member of Integrated Dairies Limited, Vom; and has served as a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Council of Legal Education (2008–2014). He was also a Board Member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja (1996–2004).

Publications and family life

Prof. Amupitan is the author of several widely used legal textbooks, including 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 blessed with four children.

Upon Senate confirmation, Prof. Joash Amupitan will officially assume office as Nigeria’s new electoral umpire, the first ever from Kogi State to lead the nation’s electoral body.