Prof. Joash Amupitan
By Abdullahi Abubakar
The National Council of State has unanimously approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from Kogi State as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu presented Professor Amupitan’s nomination during Thursday’s Council meeting to fill the vacancy left by Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who served as INEC Chairman from 2015 until October 2025.
President Tinubu noted that Amupitan, a distinguished academic and legal scholar, is the first person from the North-Central state of Kogi to be nominated for the position and described him as apolitical and highly principled.
Council members gave unanimous support to the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State describing Amupitan as “a man of integrity and deep intellect.”
In line with constitutional requirements, President Tinubu will now forward Amupitan’s name to the Senate for confirmation.
Aged 58, Professor Amupitan, from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, where he also serves as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration). He is concurrently the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State.
A renowned scholar, he specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law, and became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2014.
His academic journey began at the University of Jos, where he obtained his LLB (1987), LLM (1993), and PhD (2007), following earlier studies at the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988 and began his academic career in 1989 after his NYSC at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation.
Professor Amupitan has authored several widely referenced legal texts, including Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008), and Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013).
He is married and blessed with four children.
