Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), says Joash Amupitan, the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is a man of integrity.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on
Thursday, Odinkalu said Amupitan’s character is not in doubt but warned that
his integrity could be tested by what he called the “multiple principalities”
within the electoral body.
He said INEC is difficult to manage because of entrenched
political interests and the influence of politicians who “own” workers within
the commission.
“But when I said that INEC is a place dominated by multiple
principalities, that’s exactly the point I was trying to make,” Odinkalu said.
“There is no senior politician, from the presidency to state
governors, who does not have a plant in INEC.
“I’m not a particularly religious person, but I’ll tell him
that because he is who he is, I’ll be praying for him.”
Odinkalu advised Amupitan to set clear priorities and
determine measurable goals for his tenure.
‘ANMABRA GUBER POLLS A FIRST MAJOR TEST’
The former NHRC chairman said Nigerians would judge
Amupitan’s leadership by how he manages the November 8 Anambra governorship
election, describing it as his first major test.
“If I were to make a suggestion to the new INEC chairperson,
quite clearly he cannot fix everything in one day,” Odinkalu said.
“With the time he’s got, and given the damage that Mahmood
Yakubu did to INEC, it seems to me he’s got to decide what his priorities are
and how to measure progress.
“His first election is the Anambra governorship poll, and
he’s got barely two weeks to deal with that. People are not going to give him
any free passes.”
Odinkalu added that the Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun
governorship elections would serve as indicators of what to expect in the 2027
general election.
“It seems to me he’s got a few laboratories — electoral
laboratories — in which to test his ideas,” he said.
“On that basis, Nigerians are going to have a foretaste of
what 2027 will look like.”
Odinkalu described Amupitan as a “decent man” and expressed
confidence that he would not conduct elections that produce disputed outcomes.
“I know Joash; we were at law school together and were
admitted to the Nigerian Bar on the same day,” he said.
“Joash is a person of basic decency and integrity. My hope
is that when his tenure ends, he will leave INEC as the same Joash I have known
for nearly four decades.
“Joash will not administer an election, like in Edo state,
where there are four results.”
At his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday at the State House,
President Bola Tinubu told Amupitan that the November 8 Anambra election would
be a “litmus test” for his leadership.
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