Newly appointed INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan.
Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has been proposed by President Bola Tinubu to serve as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The National Council of State confirmed the appointment on Thursday, after Professor Mahmood Yakubu left the electoral body.
Amupitan's selection is the first time a Kogi State native would lead Nigeria's election management organization, according to a statement released by presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga.
The law professor is originally from Ayetoro Gbede, which is located in Kogi state's Ijumu Local Government Area.
Amupitan has worked in academics and law for more than thirty years. He is currently the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos.
Beginning as an assistant lecturer in 1989, he advanced through the ranks to become a professor of law in 2008 and a reader in 2003.
According to information from the University of Jos website, the new INEC head earned all of his legal degrees from the same institution, including his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
After finishing his studies at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos, he was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1988.
Law of Evidence, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance, and Privatization Law are among Amupitan's scholarly and professional interests.
In 2014, he received the esteemed title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in honor of his services to the legal field.
Amupitan has held a number of national and administrative roles outside of academia.
At the University of Jos, he has held the positions of Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors, Head of the Department of Public Law, and Dean of the Faculty of Law.
Additionally, he has represented the school on a number of boards, such as the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, where he was a member of the Governing Council, and the Council of Legal Education.
Prior to his nomination, he served as Joseph Ayo Babalola University's pro-chancellor and council chairman in Osun State.
The legal scholar has written or co-written more than fifty scholarly works, covering topics such as laws for the petroleum sector, corporate governance, and election law reform.
He has overseen over a dozen law master's and doctoral students.
Professor Amupitan holds memberships in the National Association of Law Teachers, the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the Nigerian Bar Association.
He has held positions on a number of boards outside of academia, such as the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, Riss Oil Limited, and Integrated Dairies Limited.
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