LAGOS NOVEMBER 15TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Professor Pat Utomi has questioned the neutrality of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, following allegations that the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the United Kingdom, Tunde Doherty, accompanied him to a Chatham House engagement in London.
Utomi, a political economist, raised the concern in a social media post, questioning why an electoral umpire entrusted with protecting the integrity of Nigerians’ votes would be seen in the company of a partisan political figure.
He wondered why Nigerians should be expected to have confidence in the independence of the electoral commission when its chairman’s association with political actors could raise questions about his impartiality.
“An APC fellow escorted INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, to Chatham House the other day, and Nigerians are expected to believe that the man entrusted with protecting the integrity of their votes is above partisan influence? What exactly are we supposed to make of this?” he asked.
Utomi argued that public confidence in the electoral process could not be sustained by demanding that citizens blindly trust the electoral umpire, insisting that such confidence must be earned through conduct that leaves no room for reasonable suspicion.
According to him, the presence of partisan political actors around the head of an electoral institution inevitably raises questions about the institution’s independence.
“When the head of an electoral institution is seen moving in the company of partisan political actors, questions are inevitable. You cannot ask Nigerians to trust the referee when his conduct gives them reason to question whose side he is on,” he said.
He added that Nigerians should not be expected to dismiss their concerns and accept such circumstances as part of democratic practice.
The controversy followed Amupitan’s appearance at Chatham House on Thursday, November 12, where he participated in a discussion on Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, titled, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
Doherty, who was elected chairman of the APC’s UK chapter in June 2024, was identified in photographs and videos circulating on social media from the London engagement.
The development has generated questions about the electoral commission’s perceived independence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan, however, reaffirmed his commitment to impartiality during the Chatham House engagement, declaring that his loyalty was solely to the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act.
The INEC chairman also denied operating an X account allegedly used to express support for President Bola Tinubu and the APC during the 2023 general elections.
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