“Nigerians Don’t Realise the Danger They Face” – Sam Amadi on INEC Appointment

The appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has drawn criticism from Sam Amadi, the Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts.

He expressed his regret that Nigerians are not aware of the risks they currently face as a result of Amupitan’s appointment in a post on 𝕏 on Saturday.

He criticized the populace for applauding Amupitan’s legal prowess rather than presenting him with a plan and warning him to steer clear of the purported blunders of his predecessor, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

In his view, Nigerians are trivializing important national issues rather than holding their leaders responsible.

“People from Nigeria,” Amadi stated. Rather than giving him a fixed agenda and cautioning him against following Mahmud’s path, they are lauding his litigation abilities. What connection exist? People in Nigeria are not quite aware of the peril they are in. Everything they do is being trivialized.

According to Babatunde Ogala, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Joash Amupitan, the recently appointed chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was a member of the legal team that represented President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 election tribunal.

Earlier this week, President Tinubu selected Amupitan to take over as INEC’s head. Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s ten-year term concluded on Tuesday. The Senate has yet to accept his nomination, which was overwhelmingly approved by the Council of State on Thursday.

Amupitan, 58, is a law professor at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and functions as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), according to what was understood.

Reports surfaced shortly after his nomination, claiming that Amupitan was one of the attorneys who represented Tinubu at the tribunal. Ogala, who oversaw Tinubu’s legal staff, however, called the assertion untrue.

SAN claimed that Amupitan’s name was never on the list of 123 attorneys who represented the president in a statement released on Friday.

“As the former coordinator of that legal team, I feel compelled, not as a rejoinder, but in service to truth and public interest, to set the records straight and allay any concerns these malicious fabrications may have caused among well-meaning Nigerians,” the statement is written.

Prof. Amupitan SAN was never a part of the Tinubu Presidential Legal Team, just to be clear.

The more than 123 lawyers who were officially hired for that task, sixty (60) of them were renowned Senior Advocates of Nigeria, do not have his name on them.

“No professional service, advice, or opinion was ever requested or provided throughout the entire process.

Consequently, I urge anyone spreading this myth to provide concrete proof to the contrary. As a matter of fact, anyone can verify the veracity of this statement by requesting Certified True Copies of all court documents submitted on behalf of the president-elect (as he was at the time).

Even while political speech is unavoidable in democracies, it is crucial that our participation is grounded in morality, truth, and national stability. The deliberate falsification of facts to stir up public opinion is counterproductive and only jeopardizes our peace as a nation.