‘Elections Will Be Credible, Losers Will Congratulate Winners’, Says Amupitan

The nominee for chairmanship of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
Professor Joash Amupitan, has pledged to reconstruct integrity and nationalist assurance successful Nigeria’s electoral system, saying his extremity was to marque elections truthful transparent that “the loser volition congratulate the winner.”

Speaking during his screening astatine the Senate Committee of the Whole connected Thursday afternoon, Amupitan outlined a broad betterment program that includes mounting up an interior ethical committee, introducing a whistleblower policy, enforcing accountability wrong the commission, and deploying exertion — including drones — to amended predetermination logistics and security.

Reacting to lawmakers’ questions astir corruption, electoral credibility, and logistics, Amupitan stressed that if confirmed arsenic the adjacent INEC chairman, spot and ethical behaviour would beryllium the cornerstone of his leadership.

“I deliberation that is simply a large concern. We volition enactment retired an interior mechanics to effort the behaviour of humans,” helium said.

“I’m taking this presumption connected trust, and my radical indispensable admit that they clasp their positions connected spot arsenic well. We volition acceptable up an ethical committee to person an overview of what has happened due to the fact that radical person reported and thing was done. We volition prosecute each ailment and travel through.”

He further revealed plans to collaborate with the National Assembly connected the projected Electoral Offences Commission to guarantee that electoral violations are decently investigated and sanctioned.

“We volition enactment with the National Assembly due to the fact that determination volition beryllium a request for legislative involution connected an electoral offences committee to analyse cases — adjacent if we request to usage forensic means to bash that. We volition present a whistleblowing argumentation to exposure specified practices,” Amupitan explained.

On the contented of predetermination security, Amupitan said INEC nether his enactment would instrumentality innovative steps to guarantee that nary elector is disenfranchised, adjacent successful hard-to-reach areas.

“Security is simply a large challenge. We volition enactment with the information committee to fortify those areas. We volition put successful logistics to marque definite we penetrate each parts of Nigeria — adjacent if we request to usage drones. No elector volition beryllium near behind; that volition beryllium our policy,” helium stated.

The prof of instrumentality besides emphasised the value of elector and civic acquisition arsenic a means of deepening antiauthoritarian values.

“There’s going to beryllium elector acquisition and civic education. We volition physique the capableness of each predetermination stakeholders and embark connected assertive civic education,” helium said.

Addressing the contentious contented of real-time transmission of results, Amupitan said the substance required legislative clarity, noting that helium would lend his expertise to assistance fortify the Electoral Act.

“On the contented of real-time transmission, the Electoral Act has not been concluded. I volition marque my ain input if I tin and spot however that contented tin beryllium addressed,” helium said.

He promised that predetermination timelines and procedures would beryllium streamlined to region ambiguities and guarantee credibility.

“The contented of timeline volition beryllium streamlined, truthful there’s nary ambiguity. We volition guarantee that elections are credible truthful that the loser volition congratulate the victor and say, ‘You won.’ We volition look into the information of predetermination materials arsenic well,” Amupitan pledged.

The INEC president chairman nominee besides vowed to uphold transparency successful fiscal absorption wrong the commission.

“This Parliament has capable laws connected procurement and absorption of nationalist funds; they volition beryllium enforced strictly truthful that funds are utilised for their intended purposes. We tin besides prevention funds wherever possible,” Amupitan said.