- ’There’s need for Electoral Offences Commission’
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Logistics problems of elections will be tackled headlong, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Joash Amupitan, said yesterday.
He spoke during his screening for the job by the Senate.
His nomination was unanimously confirmed after more than three hours of drilling in the Red Chamber.
Among the issues he addressed was the allegation that he was a member of President Tinubu’s legal team during the challenge to his 2023 election victory. He denied it.
He also fielded questions on INEC’s independence, electoral integrity, free, fair and credible poll, use of technology in transmission of results, and Electoral Act review.
After the screening, the nominee was permitted to take a bow and exit the Senate chambers with a promise that the decision of the senators would be conveyed to him.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion to restore all floor privileges earlier suspended.
The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader Abba Moro and approved by the lawmakers when it was put to a voice vote.
Thereafter, the Senate approved his nomination as INEC chairman when it was put to a voice vote.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said: “The nomination of Joash Ojo Amupitan for appointment as INEC chairman is hereby confirmed.”
Before Amupitan and his entourage were admitted into the chamber, the Senate suspended its relevant rules to admit the candidate and other “strangers” into the chambers.
Members of his entourage included the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Basheer Lado; Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Tanko Ishaya; the candidate’s wife, Mrs Amupitan, and his three children – Favour, Marvellous and Beloved.
Akpabio asked Amupitan to take the stand and advised that he could sit down or ask for water during the course of the screening.
We don’t want any incident here, Akpabio joked: “Our hospital is not ready yet.” There was general laughter.
The Senate President also told his colleagues that vetting and fingerprinting had been done by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate).
“The Department of State Services has also done security vetting, and the professor has been cleared.
“The Office of the Inspector General of Police conducted fingerprint checks and, from the report I have, the subject does not have any criminal record with the police as of date,” he said.
During his brief self-introduction, Amupitan acknowledged the authority and supremacy of the Senate as the apex lawmaking chamber in the country.
“We are told that Parliament is so powerful that it can turn a man into a woman and in reverse; I am not oblivious to the constitutional powers and authority of this Senate,” Amupitan said.
He appreciated President Tinubu for nominating him for the job, saying: “I thank the President of the Federal Republic as well as the Council of State for nominating me for this very important task of service to the nation.”
‘God, hard work, and mentorship my guiding principles’
Amupitan told the legislators that three things have influenced his rising life, which include “God, hard work, and mentorship.”
He added: “I am proud to report that I was the first professor of law from Kogi State. I was appointed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2014.”
Amupitan told the lawmakers that he is not new to the precincts of the hallowed chambers, having worked alongside lawmakers on several issues.
“I have also worked with the National Assembly on institutional building policies and seminars. I was a consultant to the House of Representatives on certain matters, and I presented the keynote address at the House of Representatives’ second anniversary on the appraisal of the legislative agenda.
“In 2008, I presented a paper on politics and governance and the challenge of electoral reform, and I was a member of the 8th House of Representatives committee on law reform, working on the review of over 500 pieces of legislation.
“I assisted in harmonising the 2018 Electoral Act under the auspices of relevant bodies, though the bill was subsequently vetoed by the former President.”
‘There’ll be an audit’
Speaking during his screening, Amupitan said if confirmed, he would, among other tasks, carry out a general audit of INEC, especially the logistics challenges and proffer suitable solutions to them in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
He said: “We must confront these problems head-on. Let me give one example, logistics.
“We rely on third-party logistics to transport sensitive election materials. Some of the vehicles are old and unreliable.
“When they drop materials, they often don’t wait to take the results back. So, when voting ends and results are ready for collation, we face serious challenges with transportation.
“We don’t need to keep hiring vehicles and machines for every election.
“INEC needs to take logistics more seriously, even if it means developing its own transport fleet. That’s one practical example I know.”
He also gave a personal example that in the 2023 election, his wife was a collation officer, who had to move a generator from the house to the centre.
At that point, the Senate President said: “So, Professor, you’re saying that when materials are dropped off at polling units, the vehicles rarely come back to pick up results? Do you mean they forgot some of our results at the polling units?”
“Yes, sir, in some cases,” Amupitan said. “It’s not that results are forgotten, but the presiding officers are often stranded.
“When logistics fail, they have to find their own way to the collation centres, sometimes very late.”
He added: “There must be clarity of purpose. Glitches, especially during the presidential election, eroded confidence.
“I intend to audit the system to identify what is wrong and whether we have what it takes as presently configured. It is not just INEC’s responsibility.
“Agencies such as the NCC, NIMC, and service providers must work together to ensure reliable technology.
“There will definitely be an audit of the system and logistics to ensure the proper strategy is put in place.
“We all know the problems, and we will find a proper strategy to confront them.”
‘IREV not part of result collation system’
Quoting from a ruling of the Supreme Court, Amupitan said that the use of INEC’s Results Viewing Portal (IREV) was not a part of the results collation system of the Commission.
“A lot of people thought it was part of the results collation system, but the Supreme Court said it is not,” he said.
He said that there is a need to establish an Electoral Offences Commission to help investigate and prosecute electoral offenders.
“INEC does not have the capacity for investigation and prosecution at the moment,” he said.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau fired the first salvo on the judicious use of funds appropriated, after Akpabio cleared the way for questions.
In his response, Amupitan said: “Under the Constitution, INEC is an independent body and a commission on first line charge.”
He added: “One practical problem with independence and autonomy relates to finances.
“Although it has been legislated that funds should be released at least a year before an election, funds often do not come in time, and the envelope system constrains the institution financially.
“There is also ignorance of authority and power; autonomy is legislated but sometimes not fully exercised.
“We will look at the spirit and letter of the Constitution and the laws made by the National Assembly, use our knowledge to ensure INEC’s independence, and audit to identify and address factors that constrain autonomy. I can give that assurance.”
The Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, questioned him on the integrity of elections in Africa.
Senator Simon Lalong remarked that he “went through” Amupitan when he did his Master’s at the University of Jos.
However, Akpabio interjected, asking him to explain what he meant by “I went through”.
Lalong explained that Amupitan was serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Law when he did his Master’s programme at the University of Jos. “He did not lecture me. I only know he was the Dean.”
In his response, Akpabio said: “I know you want to vouch for his integrity, but do not favour him by saying you went through, went under and went above him when you attended the school.” There was general laughter following the comment of the Senate President.
Akpabio asked: “BVAS and IReV were meant to be game changers, but presented difficulties and problems during elections. If you become INEC chairman, what do you hope to do?”
Amupitan said his goal, if allowed to be INEC chairman, would be to ensure the integrity of the image of the Commission and the electoral process.
He said: “The Supreme Court clarified that IReV is not an electronic collation system; the law prescribed manual collation and IReV was intended as a safeguard for comparison.”
Senator Abdulaziz Yari asked how to ensure transparency in managing INEC’s budget is being used judiciously, particularly during the major elections, while Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume asked how he would ensure that security agencies perform their roles professionally, without compromising the integrity of elections.
Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal asked Amupitan about clauses in the Electoral Act that require amendment to improve the integrity of our elections, while Senator Abdul Ningi asked how the Commission can achieve real-time electronic transmission of results.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu wanted to know how Amupitan would ensure the timely deployment of materials and personnel so that no Nigerian is disenfranchised, while Senator Osita Ngwu asked about what internal mechanism he would deploy to prevent and detect compromise among INEC staff.
