Baba Martins
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sworn in Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The brief swearing-in ceremony took place on Thursday at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The ceremony was attended by key members of the Federal Executive Council, the leadership of the National Assembly led by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and senior officials of INEC.
On October 9, the National Council of State unanimously approved the nomination of Professor Amupitan as the new Chairman of INEC.
President Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit.
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 sent Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening which has now been confirmed by the senate.
Amupitan, 58, from Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau and 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.
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).
