The appointment of INEC Chairman Nominee, Professor Amipitan SAN, has been confirmed, approved and validated by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Watchmann reports Professor Amupitan, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration of University of Jos (UNIJOS), was confirmed as substantive INEC Chairman by the Senate on Thursday.

Recall Prof. Amupitan was nominated as INEC Chairman by President Bola Tinubu during the last National Council of State meeting.

The National Council of State backed the nomination, paving the way for the screening by the Senate.

Amupitan replaces Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who bowed out of the commission upon completion of his tenure, serving from 2015 till October 2025.

Prior to his screening, Amupitan had a meeting with Basheer Lado, Special Adviser on Senate Matters to President Tinubu.

During his presentation to the Senate, Amupitan pledged to ensure that under his leadership, INEC will maintain its independence.

Amupitan also pledged that he will audit the INEC system to find out what went wrong and what happened with the INEC IREV glitches during the 2023 Presidential election, which eroded the confidence of many people.

He thanked President Tinubu as well as the National Council of State for his appointment.

“For me, this is a very important task of service to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

Amupitan is the first person from North-Central nominated to occupy the INEC Chairman position and he is said to be apolitical.

‎Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area in Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at UNIJOS, Plateau State. He is also an alumnus of the university.

‎He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.

‎Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.

‎After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.

‎He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.

‎Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos.

A position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.

‎Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).

‎Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council.

He is also a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).

‎Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as 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 has four children.