‘Write Your Name In Gold, Don’t Fail Nigerians’, Lawmakers Tell New INEC Chair Amupitan

The Opposition Lawmakers Coalition has expressed support for the nomination of Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, for appointment as the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), tasking him to write his name in gold and not fail Nigerians.

The coalition, in a statement by its Spokesperson, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo), urged the INEC chairmanship nominee to prioritise Nigerians’ interests over political interests and called on him to use his legal profession experience and administrative background to embark on deeper electoral reforms once cleared and sworn in.

“For us as opposition coalition lawmakers, we welcome the appointment made by the President, appointing Amupitan as the new INEC Chairman because looking at his background in terms of academic excellence, he comes highly recommended. He can’t fail, he has been a lecturer, even a Pro-Chancellor and lawyer, SAN.

“We have an INEC chairman that knows the difficulty in proving election petition, knows the loopholes, etc. He has taught it in classroom and practised it in the field and now he’s going to execute it. He has no reason to fail. He has all the professional qualifications required to administer a successful INEC.

“We don’t have any history of his bad deed, if we do, we would have been among those who will say no to this appointment. We need to judge the man by his past standards, and those past standards are in his professional record. Let us allow him to transition into the position, then we start watching his efforts, decisions as the day goes by,” the statement read in parts.

The opposition lawmakers said the election coming up in Anambra State will be a test case for Amupitan’s capacity to handle INEC as well as that of Osun State governorship election.

“We believe he has reason to succeed and we also believe he has no reason to fail because he has the professional capacity. Those things he has experienced in the field, now he has the capacity to adjust those loopholes that’s unending.

“So we welcome his appointment and support him as long he continues to administer INEC in compliance with the provisions of the law,” Opposition lawmakers added.