Another professor to emerge INEC Chairman- VOP TV Exclussive

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to announce the appointment of a new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) tomorrow, Thursday, October 9, 2025.

This development follows the formal acceptance of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s exit from office after the completion of his second and final term as INEC Chairman.

Yakubu has handed over to Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, a seasoned legal practitioner and National Commissioner, who now serves as Acting Chairman pending the appointment of a substantive head of the Commission.

Among those being considered for the position is Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) from Kogi State, a respected legal scholar and counsel to controversial politician and activist Dino Melaye.

Reliable sources informed VOP TV that the formal announcement of the new INEC Chairman will be made during the Council of State meeting scheduled for Thursday.

Prof. Amupitan, who currently serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, is a distinguished legal academic with over 34 years of teaching and administrative experience.

A native of Ijumu Local Government Area in Kogi State, Prof. Amupitan is married to Dr. (Mrs.) Yemisi Amupitan, and their union is blessed with four children.

He began his academic career at the University of Jos in 1989 as an Assistant Lecturer, rising through the ranks to become a Reader in 2003 and a Professor of Law in 2008.

Over the years, he has held several key positions, including Head of the Department of Public Law, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors, and Member of the University Governing Council.

He has also served on the Governing Councils of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the Council of Legal Education.

If appointed, Prof. Amupitan’s emergence would maintain the long-standing tradition of Nigerian presidents not appointing INEC chairmen from their own geo-political zones.

This practice dates back to 1999, when then-President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Prof. Maurice Iwu from the South-East as INEC Chairman — a precedent that has been sustained by successive administrations.