The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) has called on the Senate to disqualify Professor Joash Amupitan from confirmation as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a petition signed by ALDRAP Administrative Secretary Jesse Williams Amuga, addressed to the President of the Senate Rt. Hon. Simon Lalonge , through the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, the association, said Prof. Amupitan’s previous engagement as lead counsel for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 presidential election petition at the Supreme Court makes him unfit to head the electoral body.
In the the letter, signed by ALDRAP’s Administrative Secretary Jesse Williams Amuga, explained that confirming Amupitan would contravene Section 5 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, 1991 which prohibits public officers from placing themselves in positions where personal interest conflicts with official duties.
It also stated that such an appointment would also violate Section 19 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2003, which forbids the use of prior official or professional roles for personal advantage.
“Having previously served as lead counsel to the APC, Prof. Amupitan cannot perform the duties of INEC Chairman, a position that demands utmost impartiality without creating a perception of bias,” the group noted.
Citing the Senate’s 2021 rejection of Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as INEC National Commissioner over her political affiliation with the APC, ALDRAP urged lawmakers to apply the same standard to Amupitan’s case.
The association also reminded the Senate that Nigeria has over 200,000 lawyers, many of whom are politically neutral and capable of serving as INEC chairman without raising concerns of partisanship.
ALDRAP however, warned that it would institute legal action against the Senate if it proceeds with Amupitan’s confirmation, describing such a move as a violation of the principle of impartiality in the appointment of electoral officials.
“Take notice that in the event the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria goes ahead to undertake confirmation of the said Prof. Joash Amupitan, Our association ALDRAP shall be left with no other option that to institute a lawsuit to compel the Senate to comply with the requirements of impartiality in the confirmation of a chairman of INEC”, the group emphasised.
