Odinkalu questions INEC’s credibility, says Amupitan cannot be trusted with 2027 polls
Human rights lawyer Chidi Odinkalu has cast doubt on the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under its chairman, Joash Amupitan, to deliver credible elections in 2027, describing the commission’s recent performance in the Federal Capital Territory as a “woeful failure”.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Monday, Odinkalu said the conduct of the FCT council polls had raised serious concerns about the commission’s preparedness and administrative competence.
“INEC failed,” he said. “Amupitan’s INEC failed woefully. On this evidence, nobody can trust Joash Amupitan to organise credible elections in 2027.”
Odinkalu argued that the problems witnessed were not primarily legal but administrative, accusing the commission of lacking both resolve and effective electoral management.
“It is not about the law,” he said. “It is about the failure of will, the failure of electoral administration.”
He urged electoral officials who are unable to meet the standards expected of them to either improve their performance or resign, saying the integrity of the democratic process must take precedence over individual officeholders.
Responding to suggestions that it may be premature to assess Amupitan, who was appointed late last year, Odinkalu noted that the INEC chair had previously overseen a governorship election in Anambra State, arguing that he was not new to the demands of electoral administration.
He cited logistical shortcomings in the FCT polls, describing the process as poorly coordinated in the nation’s capital. He also criticised the commission for reassigning voters without adequately informing them of changes to their polling units on election day, a development he said undermined voter confidence.
Odinkalu called on INEC to acknowledge its shortcomings and apologise to Nigerians where necessary. Public trust, he suggested, depends on transparency and accountability.
According to him, the INEC chair should accept personal responsibility for the lapses and treat them as an opportunity to reform the system.
“To simply pretend as if these things did not happen and say this is the standard to which elections are organised will be irresponsible,” he said.
He added that Nigerians were not demanding perfection, but evidence of commitment to improvement.
“A chairperson of INEC who is committed to credible elections would admit that there are failures that should never have happened on the watch of a credible electoral administrator and will say, ‘We will do something about it,’” he said.