Public Affairs Analyst, Dickson Iroegbu, has criticized the appointment process that produced Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Iroegbu described the process as fundamentally compromised, expressing doubt over the Commission’s ability to deliver credible elections under Amupitan’s leadership.
“I have no special expectation from a process that is already flawed. The person appointed as INEC Chairman has not even acknowledged the irregularities that characterized his nomination,” Iroegbu said.
He referenced former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s 2007 admission of electoral flaws as an example of integrity in leadership, contrasting it with the current situation.
“For me, the process that brought this man in was flawed because, during the Council of State meeting, how many former Heads of State were actually present? This is an umpire appointed by his boss, and I don’t expect any miracle from him,” he noted.
Iroegbu, however, expressed hope that Amupitan would “prove critics wrong,” adding that INEC’s institutional culture has a way of “smearing even the most impeccable personalities” who assume leadership there.
The National Council of State had recently approved Amupitan’s nomination from the North-Central region as the new INEC Chairman.
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