A PLAYER AND A REFEREE: Here we go again! Here we are walking into what may be a well-packaged fraud from day one.
Nigerians must have learnt not to trust President Bola Tinubu by now. Over the years, he has proved time and again that he cannot be trusted especially with electioneering matters and high level national policies.
It stands to reason therefore that Tinubu, knowing his antecedents, would never be neutral in picking an umpire for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The popular perception of Tinubu is that of a win-at-all-cost politician.
He takes no prisoners in election contests. He doesn’t lose elections. But don’t ask how the victory was wrought.He himself has openly confessed to the smash-grab-and-run-wit h it method.
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From the foregoing, it would be foolhardy to expect President Tinubu to be fair and neutral in selecting an umpire for the electoral body.
Not when a crucial election is ahead in which he’s a contestant.
The situation here is like asking a cat to look after a rat. Nigeria must be the only country in the world where one of the contending teams in a tournament is allowed to nominate the referee for the game!
The message here is that Nigerians must be extra-vigilant as Tinubu nominates a new INEC chairman.
A certain Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan was presented to the National Council of State (NCS) last Thursday and it was a fait accompli. The captive crowd sequestered in the presidential villa wouldn’t dare to question the President in his domain.
Upon a careful scrutiny of the nominee and his bio, this column has strong reasons to be sceptical. This column therefore urges the Senate, which has the final say to tarry a while, take two weeks to one month and run a thorough check on PROFESSOR JOASH OJO AMUPITAN.
Below are some areas the senate must flash it’s searchlight.
FIVE REASONS WHY SENATE OUGHT TO REJECT AMUPITAN
ONE: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Upon his nomination, discerning Nigerians have pointed at a clear case of conflict. Many remember that Prof Amupitan was one of the horde of over 50 SANS who were in the legal team of Tinubu and the APC at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).
According to some civil society bodies, Amupitan was not just a member, he was said to have played some leading role. There need to scrutinize this claim thoroughly.
If Amupitan was ever on the payroll of Tinubu or APC, no matter how tangentially, that disqualifies him summarily.
Further, if such a fact was concealed from the public. It may amount to criminal concealment of germaine facts. The fact of this matter should be easier for the senate to unveil.
Apart from the matter of conflict, if truly he was part of that team, it says a lot about his character and integrity that he was a part of senior lawyers who aided and abetted the open heist that was 2023 Presidential.
TWO: NO RECORD OF EARLY EDUCATION ON AMUPITAN’S PROFILE: The second reason why the senate must carefully scrutinize the nominee is that there’s no evidence of primary and secondary school attendance or qualification.
First, it is strange that there are few biographical profiles of Amupitan online. Wikipedia, LinkedIn, etc don’t seem to know him. The official profile which the presidency released is what major newspapers like The Punch, Daily Trust The Cable, Premium Times, etc just rehashed. It’s either the editors played dumb or that they are actually so. Which is unlikely. One finds it difficult to believe that such a major lacuna in such a major CV could be missed by all the newspapers in the land. So our Prof Amupitan was born in 1967 … and he enrolled in Kwara Polytechnic in 1982 to 1984, then UNIJOS where he earned LLB, (1987).
It is the same way most of them are silent on his role in PEPT. Uncanny.
THREE: DODGY CAREER TRAJECTORY AT UNIJOS: Another aspect of Amupitan’s CV that needs to be checked is his rise in the UNIJOS law faculty where he had all his legal studies.
For instance, Amupitan became head of Department of Public Law, 2006 to 2008, that was before he had earned his PhD.
Again, he was Dean, Faculty of Law, 2008 to 2014, only one year after earning his PhD! It’s either there were no professors in the department and faculty or someone is a prankster here!
The Senate must seek coherent answers.
FOUR: NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NO STATE: A Fourth reason the Senate must be circumspect is that the so-called National Council of State (NCS) meeting which purportedly endorsed President Tinubu’s nominee is more State than national. The most prominent members may have boycotted the show. No former President was in attendance.
Former Presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan; former heads of state: Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalam Abubakar, didn’t show up.
This simply may suggest that they are not happy with what Tinubu is doing. It was never this bad, NCS was never so shunned before. Not even in the time of Buhari.
This may give the Senate a pointer.
FIVE: DEEP INTEREST IN THE KITCHEN CABINET: Amupitan is said to have deep roots in Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet through his long-standing friendship with James Faleke. They are also from the same local government, Ojumu in Kogi State.
James Abiodun Faleke is one of the closest aides of President Tinubu today. He has been a steadfast and loyal aide of Asiwaju since 1999. That has kept him in the loop of Lagos and Kogi Politics till this moment.
The logic here is that if Prof Amupitan is beholden to the Tinubu cabal, he will do their biddings when the chips are down in a crucial moment of calling a presidential election.
LASTLY, THE SENATE OWES NIGERIA A DUTY: It’s trite to say that the INEC chairman is perhaps the most important position after the president therefore, the making of one must be very thorough.
This column calls on the Senate of the Federal Republic to rise to the occasion this time. This position is too serious to be taken lightly.