Presidency Backs INEC Chair, Knocks ADC Leaders Over Criticism

 

The Presidency has on Friday dismissed criticisms from leaders of the African Democratic Congress, stating that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, is too accomplished to be tutored on his responsibilities.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, made the remarks while reacting to calls by ADC leaders, including former Senate President David Mark, the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, and its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, who had urged the INEC chairman to resign.

 

The ADC chieftains had, during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, demanded Amupitan’s resignation, alleging that he lacked the capacity to conduct credible elections in the country.

Mark had also called on President Bola Tinubu to remove the INEC boss, insisting that his performance had fallen short of expectations.

 

Responding via a post on X, Ajayi defended Amupitan’s competence, describing him as a highly accomplished legal scholar and practitioner.

“We all can at least agree that the INEC chairman is at the top of his career academically and professionally – a teacher of law, Professor of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

“What this means is he sure knows what ‘status quo ante bellum’ means.

“Senator David Mark, Mr. Peter Obi, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, certainly, can’t teach him what that Latin legal maxim means.

“It is bad politics for ADC people to make their own internal crisis of choice a problem of Professor Amupitan, that of President Tinubu and APC.”