A professor of law at the University of Jos, Plateau State, Joash Ojo Amupitan, on Thursday scaled the first hurdle of succeeding Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the ratification of his nomination by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the National Council of State.
Amupitan, a senior advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) who is from the North Central geopolitical zone, had in the past two weeks been speculated in the media as the likely successor to Yakubu after almost 10 years in office – October 21, 2015, to October 2025.
Yakubu had on Tuesday October 7, 2025, officially handed over the leadership of the commission to Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, as acting chairman being the oldest serving National Commissioner at INEC during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Presenting Amupitan’s name, the President informed the Council that he would be the first person from Kogi State, North-Central State, nominated to serve as the election umpire and is apolitical.
Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity.
In compliance with the constitution, Amupitan’s name will now be forwarded by President Tinubu to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu LGA in Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau State. He is also an alumnus of the university.
He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.
Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.
After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.
He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.
Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).
Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, and a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja (1996-2004).
Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008); Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008); Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), Principles of Company Law (2013) and an Introduction to the Law of Trust in Nigeria (2014). He is married and has four children.
