INTRODUCTION

I met him in court during one of the struggles of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja. He had come from Jos to be part of the legal team representing ASUU, pro bono. On that occasion I noticed that he was very calm, amiable and humble. Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was last week confirmed by the Senate of the National Assembly as the 13th Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, succeeding Professor Mahmood Yakubu whose decade-long tenure came to an end after serving his two terms in office. He was chosen by the Council of State amongst other candidates submitted by the President in accordance with extant laws on the mode of appointment of INEC Chairman. Amupitan was before his appointment the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), at the University of Jos, where he obtained his Bachelor of Law Degree in 1987 and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988. He later enrolled for a Master of Law programme in that University which he successfully completed in 1993. Professor Amupitan acquired his Ph.D in Law also from the University of Jos in 2007. He is a Professor of Law with specialization and experience in Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance, Corporate Law and Privatization Law. Part of his profile on the website of the University of Jos reveals that Professor Amupitan, SAN is ‘a distinguished Academic who believes in leadership by example, Professor Amupitan joined the services of the University of Jos in 1989 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose through the Academic ranks to attain the position of Reader in 2003 and Professor in 2008. Professor Amupitan was conferred with the revered position of Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN in 2014 in recognition of his achievements in the Law profession among many other professional accolades.’ Prof. Joash Amupitan, the first to be appointed from the North Central region, faces a major leadership test, as he inherits an electoral system dogged by controversy, low voter confidence, and pressure to deliver credible elections.

CREATION AND FUNCTIONS OF INEC

By law, INEC is the only statutory body authorised to organise or conduct national elections in Nigeria, in respect of certain offices created by the Constitution, being one of the federal executive agencies of the state established under section 153 (1), with its functions stated in paragraph 15 of the Third Schedule thereof. Under and by virtue of paragraph 14 of the said Third Schedule, the Chairman of INEC should be at least forty years old, he must be non-partisan, he must not be a member of a political party and he must be a person of unquestionable integrity. Statutorily, the major functions of INEC are to: organise, undertake and supervise all elections into major positions of national importance as stated in the Constitution; register political parties; monitor the organisation and operation of the political parties, including their finances, conventions, congresses and party primaries; arrange and conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote and prepare, maintain and revise the register of voters for the purpose of any election; monitor political campaigns and provide rules and regulations which shall govern the political parties. From all the above, INEC is the master of major elections in Nigeria. This is further confirmed by section 158 (1) of the Constitution which states that INEC shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or person. By all means, the Constitution has set out to establish an electoral body that is truly independent, because of the unique roles that INEC has to play in the emergence of leaders across the land. Statutorily and financially therefore, the goal is to make INEC a self-accounting body, in order to guarantee its independence and impartiality.

INDEPENDENCE OF INEC

The design of the framers of the Constitution is to make INEC an autonomous entity, with powers to decide its own procedures in such a way that will guarantee credible elections. That is why those to be chosen to serve in the organization are required to subscribe to oaths of neutrality. To back this up, the Constitution has granted INEC absolute powers in order to insulate it from political or extraneous influences. This is the major challenge that Professor Amupitan faces as he mounts the saddle as the new Chairman of INEC. Public perception about the organization is very low and once there is lack of confidence in the electoral process, then the outcome becomes susceptible to avoidable suspicion and needless rejection, such that even those who knew that they lost the election genuinely will still proceed to court to challenge the outcome, leveraging on the lapses of INEC. Professor Amupitan must walk the talk and separate INEC from the muddy waters. The true meaning of independence for INEC is that the electoral umpire will organize elections based on extant laws, procedures and guidelines, in strict compliance therewith, not minding who is involved. Afterall, the maxim always is ‘let justice be done, though the heavens fall.’ Confidence involves trust, reliance and faith that one will act in a right, proper or effective way, it mirrors certainty that something will be done as stated or as expected. It goes to the root of credibility, especially when there are competing forces and there is need for someone or an entity to stand in the place of the examiner or umpire. Professor Amupitan should be loyal to the Nigerian people and not to political, tribal or religious interests.

ELECTORAL REFORMS

When someone assumes a new office with such pedigree as paraded by Professor Amupitan, the expectations are very high and there is great enthusiasm from the people flowing to him. He should seize the momentum and be his own man. Blame him all you can, Professor Mahmood Yakubu brought electronic voting and transmission of results into our electoral experience, even though he could not sustain it during moments of great pressure. With his vast experience and being an expert in the area of law of evidence, Professor Amupitan should leverage technology to improve the electoral system. He should not allow his credentials to be used to oil the political ambitions of anybody but rather have his own personal ambition to bring credulity, integrity and transparency to the process of leadership recruitment. In this regard, BVAS and the iREV must be developed to work for the good of the process, to such an extent as to attain automation in the collation, transmission and announcement of election results. From all that I have monitored in the media, it is clear to my mind that Nigerians are willing to give Professor Amupitan the benefit of the doubt on his track record. He should use the coming elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States to stamp his mark of integrity upon our electoral history. The odious idea of inconclusive elections should be trampled and buried and sent back to its ugly place of origin. Suspending the process in the midst of a heated electoral contest will surely throw it open to needless controversies. Although Nigerians expect Professor Amupitan to have his own agenda to transform our electoral experience, it is nonetheless our desire that he would not proceed in the fashion of politicians who do not see anything good in the projects and visions of their predecessors in office and thus destroy the concept of continuity in governance. Professor Mahmood stood out for always preferring to defer to and err on the side of the law and now that a Learned Senior Advocate is in charge, the rule of law and adherence to due process should thrive even better. By default, Amupitan is a representative of the Bar, the academia and as an SAN, an officer of the Republic. He should make all of us proud.

INTERNAL REFORMS

For long, Nigerians have canvassed for the unbundling of INEC in line with the Uwais Report. The selfless thing to do is for Professor Amupitan to start that process internally and steadily. He should not be power hungry to sit on this behemoth called INEC. Working with the National Assembly, lawyers, civil society organisations and other critical stakeholders, there must be a drastic internal overhaul of the organization for greater efficiency. The rigid bureaucracy surrounding INEC must and should be dismantled forthwith to overcome its glaring operational inefficiencies. Professor Amupitan should travel far and wide, consult with IT experts and come up with a foolproof mechanism that will reduce to its barest minimum, human intervention in the electoral process. Digitization should also be extended to INEC itself as an organization. If political parties and their candidates are able to upload their particulars on INEC portal seamlessly, it stands against logic to ask Nigerians to travel to INEC office in Abuja to obtain the same document physically. Public office involves public trust and no one who aspires to occupy any exalted office should be allowed to play hide and seek. The public should have access to the credentials and public records of those who seek to govern them. Professor Amupitan should get INEC to simplify the process of certification of vital documents in its custody and make it digital. Reflecting on the true meaning of his name alone, the new INEC Chairman should make himself a good candidate for history.