Prof. Joash Amupitan. Photo: JABU Webste
By Agency report with extract from the Premium Times Nigeria
President Bola Tinubu has nominated Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
The appointment, which was confirmed by the National Council of State on Thursday, 9 October, 2025 follows the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu from the electoral Commission after serving out his two tenures of ten years.
Amupitan’s nomination marks the first time a native of Kogi State will head Nigeria’s election management agency, Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement.
His appointment has also been ratified by the National Council of States, Onanuga wrote in a statement, on Thursday.
“In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening,” he added.
The new nominee replaces Mahmood Yakubu, also a professor, who led INEC from 2015 until Tuesday, 7 October, 2025 when he stepped down officially bringing to an end
his second tenure of five years.
May Agbamuche Mbu
He handed over to May Agbamuche-Mbu, the most senior National Commissioner, by appointment.
Yakubu was first appointed in 2015 by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and re-appointed for another five-year tenure in 2020.
If confirmed, Amupitan will be the 13th substantive Chairman of the electoral Commission since Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
The previous Chairpersosns are Eyo Esua (1964–1966), Michael Ani (1976–1979), Victor Ovie-Whiskey (1980–1983), Eme Awa (1987–1989), Humphrey Nwosu (1989–1993), Okon Uya (1993, June-November), and Sumner Dagogo-Jack (1994–1998).
Others are Ephraim Akpata (1998–2000), Abel Guobadia (2000–2005), Maurice Iwu (2005–2010), Attahiru Jega (2010–2015), and Mr Yakubu (2015-2025).
The Commission has had two acting Chairmen; both female. They are Amina Zakari (June – November, 2015) and the current May Agbamuche-Mbu, who took over on Tuesday.
The commission was first headed by a British, Ronald Wraith, during the colonial era in 1958.
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Amupitan’s Profile
The Presidential nominee is a law professor, from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Amupitan, who currently serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, has spent more than three decades in academia and legal practice.
He joined the institution in 1989 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose through the ranks to become a Reader in 2003 and a Professor of Law in 2008.
Details from the University of Jos website show that the new INEC boss obtained all his degrees, including Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate, in Law from the same University.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988 after completing his programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos.
Amupitan’s areas of academic and professional interest include Law of Evidence, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law.
He was conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2014 in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession.
Beyond academics, Amupitan has held several administrative and national positions.
He has served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, Head of the Department of Public Law, and Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors at the University of Jos.
He has also represented the institution on several boards, including the Council of Legal Education and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, where he served as a member of the Governing Council.
He was, until his nomination, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State.
The legal scholar has authored and co-authored over 50 academic publications, with research spanning corporate governance, electoral law reform, and petroleum industry legislation.
He has supervised more than a dozen doctoral and master’s students in law.
Professor Amupitan is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the National Association of Law Teachers.
Outside academics, he has served on several boards, including Integrated Dairies Limited, Riss Oil Limited, and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council.
He is married to Dr. (Mrs.) Yemisi Amupitan, and have been blessed with four children.
Read the full statement below by the Presidency:
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES APPOINTMENT OF PROFESSOR AMUPITAN AS INEC CHAIRMAN
The National Council of State has approved the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from the North-Central as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit. Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025.
President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical.
Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity.
In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening.
Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu LGA in Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau. He is also an alumnus of the university.
He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.
Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.
After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.
He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.
Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).
Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, and a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).
Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as 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 has four children.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information and Strategy)
October 9, 2025
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