Akpabio Defends INEC Chair Amupitan Amid Alleged Controversial Partisan Tweet

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, defended the embattled chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, amid ongoing controversy over an alleged pre-election social media post, insisting that the tweet did not indicate support for any political party at the time it was made.

Akpabio made the remarks while delivering a goodwill message at the inauguration of the newly-built Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) headquarters in Abuja, where he criticised attempts to discredit those responsible for conducting elections.

According to him, critics had shifted focus to attacking electoral officials, citing the tweet allegedly linked to the INEC chairman.

“Then they changed and said, ‘okay let’s attack the people that will do the election,’ and they brought out a tweet, the one they said the INEC chairman wrote, ‘Victory is sure,’” he said.

Defending the electoral umpire, Akpabio stressed that the statement did not favour any political party.

“He didn’t say victory is sure for APC, he didn’t say victory is sure for PDP,” Akpabio said of Amupitan,

He also referenced legal arguments surrounding the issue, noting that claims about the tweet being manipulated had been raised but largely ignored.

“And the man (Amupitan) said, ‘it was manipulated,’ but nobody wants to hear. But for me, whether manipulated or not, he said ‘victory is sure,’ he was not chairman of INEC, he was just a mere lecturer. Anybody can support anybody he wishes to support, but when you are on a seat, you have to think of all the entire country and all the entire populace, and that’s what they are doing,” Akpabio stated.

The Senate President further suggested that governance issues extend beyond electoral matters, though he did not elaborate.

“I want to just let you know that it is not only in the area of revenue and in…” he said.

The controversy followed allegations that a social media account previously linked to the INEC chairman posted messages perceived as supportive of President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 general elections.

However, Amupitan denied owning the account or authoring the posts, maintaining that he had no affiliation with any political party and has never worked for one.