The Obidient Movement has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to clarify the whereabouts and official engagements of its Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, after National Commissioner Prof Rhoda Gumus represented him at an African Union engagement in Abuja.
The development followed a meeting between INEC and the AU Pre-Election and Needs Assessment Mission on Tuesday, September 15, as the continental body assesses Nigeria’s preparedness for the 2027 general elections.
The delegation, led by former Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, visited INEC headquarters in Abuja as part of a mission scheduled for September 13 to 19.
Gumus received the delegation as Acting Chairman of INEC and represented Amupitan at the engagement.
The Obidient Movement, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Dr Yunusa Tanko, said the development had raised questions about the circumstances surrounding Amupitan’s absence.
Tanko said the movement was concerned that, to its knowledge, there had been no public explanation indicating when or why Amupitan handed over his duties to Gumus.
“As far as the Obidient Movement and Nigerians are concerned, there was no official communication of Professor Amupitan’s handover to anyone, either in acting or substantive capacity,” he said.
The group asked INEC to disclose where the chairman was, when he left Abuja, the purpose of his absence and who authorised it.
It also asked whether Amupitan had travelled outside the country and, if so, what official engagements he had undertaken.
Tanko further questioned whether the INEC chairman had met or was scheduled to meet President Bola Tinubu, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress or representatives of the ruling party.
The movement said the questions were necessary because of INEC’s constitutional responsibility for conducting elections and the importance of public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 polls.
“As Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections, the INEC Chairman cannot operate in secrecy,” Tanko said.
He also raised concerns over what he described as Amupitan’s alleged political antecedents and claimed association with the APC, urging INEC to demonstrate transparency and political neutrality.
However, the allegations concerning alleged political meetings or links were not independently established in the available public information reviewed for the report.
At the AU engagement, Gumus outlined INEC’s preparations for the 2027 elections, saying the voter population was approaching 100 million, with voting expected across 176,846 polling units and a workforce exceeding 1.4 million personnel.
She also highlighted the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, the IReV results-viewing platform and collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission to audit, verify and clean the voter register.
Gumus reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to independence, neutrality and professionalism, saying the commission’s administrative decisions would be guided by law.
The AU mission is expected to examine voter registration, electoral technology, logistics, funding, inclusion, transparency, security, dispute resolution and results management as part of its assessment of Nigeria’s readiness for the 2027 elections.
The Obidient Movement called on INEC to publicly explain Amupitan’s whereabouts and official engagements.
Efforts to obtain a response from the commission on the issues raised were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
