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The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), a professional body of lawyers working within and outside the National Assembly, has petitioned the Senate, urging it to reject the nomination of Professor Joash Amupitan as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a letter dated October 10, 2025, and addressed to the President of the Senate through the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, the association warned that Amupitan’s appointment would breach constitutional provisions and ethics of public service, citing “likelihood of bias, conflict of interest, and violation of statutory conduct rules.”
The petition, signed by ALDRAP’s Administrative Secretary, Mr. Jesse Williams Amuga, was specifically directed to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Simon Lalong.
The petition was copied to several key officials and diplomatic missions, including the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Inspector-General of Police, and the Ambassadors of the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
According to the association, Professor Amupitan’s prior engagement as lead counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 presidential election petition at the Supreme Court disqualifies him from occupying the sensitive position of INEC Chairman, which demands strict neutrality.
“Professor Joash Amupitan, having served as lead counsel to the APC, cannot perform the duties of INEC Chairman with the required impartiality. His confirmation would violate Section 5 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, 1991, which prohibits public officers from placing themselves in situations of conflict between personal interest and official responsibility,” the statement read.
The group further referenced Section 19 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act (2003), which criminalizes the use of a former public or private position to gain undue advantage.
It also reminded the Senate of its 2021 precedent in rejecting Lauretta Onochie’s nomination as INEC National Commissioner over her partisan affiliation with the ruling party.
ALDRAP emphasized that with over 200,000 lawyers in Nigeria, many of whom are non-partisan, the presidency had no justification for nominating someone with overt political links.
“If the President believes the next INEC Chairman should be a lawyer, there are not less than 100,000 Nigerian lawyers who are not members of any political party nor have acted as counsel to one,” the group argued.
The association urged the Senate to return the President’s letter of nomination without referring it to the Committee on Electoral Matters, warning that proceeding with confirmation would compel it to seek judicial intervention.
“In the event that the Senate goes ahead to undertake confirmation of the said Professor Joash Amupitan, our association shall be left with no other option than to institute a lawsuit to compel the Senate to comply with the requirements of impartiality in the confirmation process,” ALDRAP stated.
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