Abuja: A pro-democracy group, Action for Accountability and Good Governance (AAGG), has called on Nigerians to support the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to enable him deliver on the 2027 General Elections. The President of the Group, Peter Bassey, made the call at a news conference on Wednesday.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Bassey explained that Amupitan had demonstrated competence, transparency, credibility, and integrity of the highest order in the discharge of his constitutional mandate pursuant to Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He noted that since assuming office on Oct. 23, 2025, the INEC chairman had anchored the commission’s work on non-negotiable principles.
Bassey listed the principles to include electoral credibility, transparency, and strict adherence to the constitution, the Electoral Act, and the INEC’s regulations/guidelines. He urged Nigerians not to distract the INEC chairman, but to allow him to concentrate on the upcoming off-circle elections in some states as well as the forthcoming 2027 general elections and other more serious electoral matters.
He appealed to all stakeholders, political parties, civil society groups, the media, and all Nigerians to rally around Prof. Joash Amupitan. Bassey emphasized the importance of supporting him as INEC prepares the nation for more credible, free, and fair elections in Ekiti and Osun States, as well as the General Elections in 2027 and beyond. He credited Amupitan’s leadership style with restoring public confidence in the electoral processes, both locally and internationally.
Bassey added that the INEC chairman had already shown commitment to duty with the timely release of the 2027 general elections’ timetable. He listed other achievements of the INEC head as the successful coordination of elections in Anambra, as well as the FCT Area Councils elections, and the preparations for the upcoming Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections among others.
He noted that the AAGG, as an accountability and good governance organization, took its time to follow up with previous and current happenings amid calls for the removal of the chairman and concluded that the call was unnecessary. He also said that the current cases instituted by or against INEC in all courts of competent jurisdiction should be allowed to make progress.