The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has denied owning or operating an X account allegedly used to express support for the All Progressives Congress during the 2023 general election.
Amupitan said the allegation had been reported to the Department of State Services and the Inspector-General of Police, adding that an independent investigation had also been conducted.
The INEC chairman disclosed this on Thursday during a dialogue organised by Chatham House in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative in London.
The event, themed, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot”, focused on the country’s electoral future and democratic development.
The controversy followed allegations that an X account with the handle @joashamupitan belonged to the electoral chief and had expressed support for the APC during the 2023 elections.
The account reportedly responded to a post by the APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, celebrating the party’s victory in a predominantly Igbo community in Lagos, with the words, “Victory is sure”.
However, INEC had dismissed the allegation as fabricated, describing it as an attempt to undermine the credibility of its chairman and the commission.
Speaking at the London event, Amupitan insisted that he had never operated an account on the social media platform.
Responding to a question on whether an independent investigation had established his innocence, he said, “We have an independent report, and the matter was also reported to the DSS as well as to the IG.”
He explained that his attempts to contact X over the alleged account were unsuccessful because he was not a registered user of the platform.
“I never had an X account. I tried to get in touch with X, but there’s no way if you don’t have an account,” he said.
Amupitan added that his regular online communication was through Yahoo Mail, insisting that the disputed account had no connection with him.
“I have my Yahoo mail. I check Yahoo mail. It was never my account. And that is the truth,” he said.
The electoral chief suggested that the controversy was part of a wider attempt to discredit him and weaken public confidence in INEC.
He linked the emergence of the allegation to the controversy surrounding a court ruling involving the African Democratic Congress and the interpretation of the status quo ante bellum order.
According to him, those seeking to undermine the commission had chosen to target its chairman rather than address the institution directly.
“The only way that people could bring down an institution was to say, ‘Oh, this person,’” he said.
Amupitan also dismissed allegations that he was a member of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team and had made false claims about his educational qualifications.
He said the allegations had been investigated by security agencies and found to be unfounded.
“There were several accusations before then. For instance, that I was a member of the legal team of the president, that I said I went to school, but that is not true.
“They were investigated and discovered not to be true. So there were also investigations from DSS, from the police. And those things were not true,” he said.
The INEC chairman, however, expressed confidence in the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general election, assuring Nigerians that the forthcoming exercise would be credible and one the country would be proud of.
