The Nigerian Senate, on Thursday, 16 October 2025, confirmed Professor Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and erstwhile Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), as the substantive Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
His nomination for the position by President Bola Tinubu was recently approved at the last National Council of State meeting.
Amupitan replaces Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who bowed out of the commission upon completing his tenure, having served from 2015 to October 2025.
Prior to his screening, Amupitan met with Basheer Lado, Special Adviser on Senate Matters to President Tinubu.
During his presentation to the Senate, Amupitan, according to a report by TNG, pledged that under his leadership, INEC would maintain its independence. He also promised to audit the INEC system to determine what went wrong with the IReV glitches during the 2023 presidential election, which eroded public confidence in the commission.
He thanked President Tinubu and the National Council of State for his appointment.
“For me, this is a very important task of service to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
What to know about the new INEC Chairman
TNG reports that Amupitan is the first person from the North-Central region to be nominated to occupy the INEC Chairman position, and he is said to be apolitical.
Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau State, and an alumnus of the institution.
He specializes 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 his primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin (1982–1984), and the University of Jos (1984–1987). He was called to the Bar in 1988.
He obtained an LLM from the University of Jos in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989 after his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation from 1988 to 1989.
Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds alongside 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, Committee of Deans and Directors (2012–2014); Dean, Faculty of Law (2008–2014); and Head of Public Law (2006–2008).
Outside academia, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited, Vom, and is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council. He is also a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008–2014) and was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja (1996–2004).
Amupitan is the author of several law books, including 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.
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