Philip Nyam 
Nigeria’s Opposition Lawmakers Coalition has given its support to the appointment of Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), expressing confidence in his capacity to deliver.
The opposition coalition, at a media conference by its spokesperson, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, urged him not to fail Nigerians.
They advised him to use his legal profession experience and administrative background to embark on deeper electoral reforms once cleared and sworn in.
The statement read in part, “For us as opposition coalition lawmakers, we welcome the appointment made by the president, appointing Amupitan as the new INEC Chairman, because looking at his background in terms of academic excellence, he comes highly recommended. He can’t fail; he has been a lecturer, even a Pro Chancellor and lawyer, SAN.
“We have an INEC chairman who knows the difficulty in proving an election petition, knows the loopholes, etc. He has taught it in the classroom and practised it in the field, and now he’s going to execute it. He has no reason to fail. He has all the professional qualifications required to administer a successful INEC.
“We don’t have any history of his bad deed; if we did, we would have been among those who would say no to this appointment. We need to judge the man by his past standards, and those past standards are in his professional record.
“Let us allow him to transition into the position, then we start watching his efforts, decisions as the day goes by. The election coming up in Anambra will be a test case of his capacity to handle INEC. Osun too.
“We believe he has reason to succeed, and we also believe he has no reason to fail because he has the professional capacity. Those things he has experienced in the field, he now has the capacity to adjust those loopholes that are unending.
“So, we welcome his appointment and support him as long as he continues to administer INEC in compliance with the provisions of the law.”
