The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Joash Amupitan, has denied allegations that he operated an X account that expressed support for President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress during the 2023 general elections.
Amupitan said he had never owned or operated an account on the social media platform, insisting that the account bearing his name was not his.
He made the clarification on Thursday during a dialogue organised by Chatham House in collaboration with the Kimpact Development Initiative in London, where discussions centred on Nigeria’s 2027 elections and democratic stability.
Responding to questions about the controversy, the INEC chairman disclosed that the matter had been reported to the Department of State Services and the office of the Inspector-General of Police, adding that an independent report had also been obtained.
He said, “I never had an X account. I tried to get in touch with X, but there’s no way if you don’t have an account.”
Amupitan further maintained that he had never been associated with the controversial account, explaining that his regular email service was Yahoo.
“I have my Yahoo mail. I check Yahoo mail. It was never my account. And that is the truth,” he stated.
The INEC chairman suggested that the allegations were part of efforts to undermine his credibility and weaken public confidence in the electoral commission.
He also dismissed claims that he was previously part of President Tinubu’s legal team or had made false representations about his educational qualifications.
According to him, investigations by security agencies had established that the allegations were unfounded.
The controversy followed reports that an X account with the handle @joashamupitan had expressed support for the APC during the 2023 elections.
The account reportedly responded with the words, “Victory is sure,” to a post by former APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, celebrating the party’s victory in a predominantly Igbo community in Lagos.
The allegation sparked concerns about Amupitan’s political neutrality and his ability to oversee credible elections in 2027.
However, INEC had earlier described the claims as fabricated, alleging that fraudulent social media accounts were being created in the chairman’s name to mislead members of the public.
In a statement issued on April 10, 2026, the chairman’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser, Adedayo Oketola, said the commission was working with security agencies and cyber-intelligence experts to identify those responsible.
Meanwhile, an investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, republished by FactCheckHub, reportedly identified similarities between partially concealed email and telephone details provided by X for account recovery and contact information linked to Amupitan.
The investigation, however, noted that definitive confirmation of the account’s operator would require access to X’s internal records, including login history, internet protocol addresses and device information.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, had also disclosed that the commission did not have verified forensic evidence connecting Amupitan to the account and was considering an independent forensic examination.
Despite the controversy, Amupitan expressed confidence in INEC’s preparedness for the 2027 general elections, assuring Nigerians that the commission was committed to delivering an electoral process they would be proud of.
