The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has denied any prior affiliation with President Bola Tinubu or the All Progressives Congress (APC). However, newly uncovered online evidence appears to contradict his office’s official statement.
On Friday, Amupitan, through his spokesperson Adedayo Oketola, rejected claims that he had been a supporter of the president. Oketola insisted that Amupitan is a neutral appointee, as required by the constitution to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.
“He does not own or operate any personal account on X (formerly Twitter),” Oketola said in the statement. “He has at no time engaged in partisan commentary, nor has he ever associated himself with any political leaning or activity in his private or public capacity.”
But open-source intelligence (OSINT) findings suggest otherwise.
The X account @joashamupitan posted “victory is sure” in March 2023 in response to a message from APC chieftain Dayo Israel, who had announced that the party had won seven out of ten polling units in an opposition stronghold predominantly populated by Igbo voters.
Further investigation revealed that the account was created using the email address amu***anj@yahoo.com—the same email found on a curriculum vitae attributed to Amupitan. That CV also listed his former institutional email, amu***anj@unijos.edu.ng, from his time as a professor at the University of Jos.
To verify the Yahoo email address, the platform sent a notification to the linked phone number: 0803***4099. That same number is tied to an Opay customer account under the username “Joash Ojo Amupitan.” Opay accounts typically use a customer’s phone number without the leading zero—in this case, 8035074099.
When reached by the Peoples Gazette on Saturday for comment on the new findings, Oketola said: “We stand by our statement. A statement was issued yesterday and that is our official position on the matter.”
The connection between the X account, the Yahoo email, and a phone number bearing Amupitan’s full name raises questions about the INEC chairman’s denial of any political allegiance to the APC or President Tinubu, who is widely expected to seek re-election in 2027.