The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, has strongly rejected allegations that the electoral body is complicit in plans to entrench a one-party state in Nigeria, insisting that the commission’s actions are strictly guided by the law and existing court orders.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Amupitan pushed back against accusations from opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress, that INEC had taken sides in its internal leadership crisis.
“I am not guilty as charged. Let me say it very clearly. I am not a party to the plan of anyone to turn Nigeria into a one-party state,” Amupitan said. “By the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Nigeria is a multi-party state.”
Addressing the controversy surrounding INEC’s decision not to recognise any faction within the ADC, Amupitan explained that the commission was following preservation orders issued by the Court of Appeal.
“The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and at the same time made some preservation orders. The preservation orders were very clear,” he said, noting that parties should maintain status quo ante bellum and not do anything that would render court proceedings nugatory.
Amupitan said the interpretation of status quo ante bellum was central to INEC’s decision-making. He traced the origins of the ADC crisis to internal party developments in July 2025, when a National Executive Committee meeting ratified the appointment of new leadership.
He revealed that INEC received conflicting communications from opposing factions on March 16, 2026, forcing the commission to refer the matter to its legal department.
“We didn’t just wake up one day and took this decision. There was something left to it,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chairman also addressed concerns about the commission’s planned voter register revalidation exercise, clarifying that the decision predates his tenure.
“The decision to revalidate the voters register was taken even before I became the chairman. The only problem is that it has not been implemented. That is why I have now decided to put it in this year’s budget,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria currently has about 93 million registered voters but described that figure as “not realistic,” citing the Anambra governorship election where only about 600,000 of 2.8 million registered voters turned up.
Amupitan warned that disregarding court orders could have far-reaching consequences for elections, citing past instances where courts declared election results invalid due to non-compliance with party congress and primary rules.
