The spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, has said that the Senate’s confirmation of Joash Amupitan as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was merely a formality.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Abdullahi said the pattern of approvals by the 10th Senate shows that “whatever the President wants, the President gets”.
“In all due respect to the National Assembly, we have learnt over time that the Senate confirmation especially this Senate has declared that whatever the President wants, the President gets,” Abdullahi said. “So, I think it’s just formality that Amupitan goes to the Senate to be screened. It’s because it’s required, that’s why it’s done. There’s no way he would have been turned back for any reason whatsoever.”
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He, however, noted that the ADC as a party is willing to give the new INEC chairman a fair chance to deliver on his promises, but emphasized that Nigeria’s electoral challenges are rooted in the “human factor,” not the absence of infrastructure or technology.
His comments come as the Senate confirmed Joash Amupitan as the new INEC chairman.
Amupitan, a professor of Law, was confirmed by the upper chamber after his screening on Thursday last week.
His confirmation came after over two hours of questioning by senators, who pressed him on how he plans to restore credibility to Nigeria’s electoral process and implement meaningful reforms within the commission.
