State Council approves Ojo Amupitan as new INEC chairman 

The National Council of State has unanimously approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

This was contained in a statement posted on X by the President’s aide, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu presented Amupitan’s name to the Council during its meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday. The appointment follows the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who completed his 10-year tenure in October 2025.

Tinubu told the Council that Amupitan, a 58-year-old Professor of Law from Kogi State, is the first person from the North-Central state to be nominated for the position.

In line with constitutional requirements, Tinubu is expected to forward Amupitan’s name to the Senate for confirmation.

Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, 58, is a renowned legal scholar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He hails from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

He is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, where he currently serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration). Amupitan also holds the position of Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State.

An alumnus of the University of Jos, he specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law. He earned his Ph.D. in Law from the same university in 2007 and was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2014.

Since joining the University of Jos in 1989, Amupitan has held several key academic and administrative positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008–2014), Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012–2014), and Head of the Department of Public Law (2006–2008).

Beyond academia, he has contributed to public service as a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Council of Legal Education. He has also served on the boards of Integrated Dairies Limited, Vom, and Riss Oil Limited, Abuja.

A prolific author, Amupitan has written several notable 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 blessed with four children.