Politics
THE prominent Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has accused the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of embarking on money gulping globetrotting fantasy trips rather than staying back more in Nigeria and focus on winning the confidence of voters which has declined historically.
HURIWA expressed disappointment that just few weeks after returning from India, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Joash Amupitan, SAN, has again led a delegation of the commission to South Korea for the opening ceremony of the International Election Observation Programme (IEOP). HURIWA described this programme as irrelevant and would add no value to the conduct of elections in Nigeria just as the Rights group wondered whether Amupitan still has the mentality of a University lecturer who is carried away by attending empty seminars and talkshops. “The work of INEC Chairman is not that of a mere participant at academic seminars but his job is to convince Nigerians that INEC is no longer corrupt, inept and has turned a new leaf so as to win the hearts and minds of doubtful Citizens. From every available body of information, INEC’s leadership still clings on to the filthy status quo of the past INEC that could not conduct hitch free elections or organise elections without man-made manipulated computer glitches.
The Rights group observed that the hierarchy of the most untrustworthy election management body in Africa does not even know that the confidence of the Nigerian voters are waning massively just as voters apathy is a reality that has resulted from the loss of faith and confidence in the readiness of the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a free, fair, transparent and a generally acceptable election come 2027. The current management of the INEC’S leadership are a bunch of foreign vacation lovers who feel that their appointments are lifetime opportunities to go about globetrotting and amassing amazing flights hours and bragging rights as top tourists amongst their contemporaries.
“What most sane Nigerians expected from the Chairman of INEC who is regarded as fresh and a neophyte on his job and unfortunately someone who has already been caught to have posted a past tweet that makes him partisan and partial, is to focus on home fronts by attending meetings by credible organisations to douse this tension and the groundswell of lack of trust and confidence in INEC by majority of Nigerian registered voters.
“The constant vexatious foreign tours of these INEC’s top officials are painting them as persons who are more interested in gaining huge estacodes and allowances for travelling all over the world rather than remain locally to brainstorm with Nigerian voters and convince Nigerians to trust INEC under Amupitan’s leadership after he has been caught to have posted a tweet which makes him a partisan supporter and fan of the incumbent president who is desperate for re-election in January just as his efforts to deny the allegation remains doubtful by millions of Nigerians.
According to a statement issued by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, the mission is in connection with the ongoing nationwide simultaneous local elections in the Republic of Korea, taking place between May 30 and June 5.
Organised by the South Korean National Election Commission (NEC), the IEOP, which was formally declared open on Saturday, May 30, in Seoul, brings together election management bodies, election experts and international observers from across the world.
The statement explained that participants would observe and exchange knowledge on the conduct of local government elections in South Korea.
“INEC Chairman will be accompanied by National Commissioner, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu; the Chief Technical Adviser to the Chairman, Dimis Mai-Lafia; and the Director of Training, Binta Kasim Mohammed,” the statement read.
“In the course of the programme, the INEC team observed early voting operations at a polling centre in Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, gaining firsthand insight into South Korea’s electoral processes and procedures.
“The INEC delegation’s participation is expected to further deepen the commission’s understanding of emerging trends and global best practices in election administration, international observation, and electoral governance, in line with the commission’s ongoing commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s democratic institutions,” the statement noted.
HURIWA however condemned these unnecessary and meaningless globetrotting journeys of the INEC’s top officials as wasteful and absolutely reprehensible just as the Rights group particularly stated that if care is not taken the voters apathy that would be witnessed in the 2027 poll might be the biggest in the political anals of Nigeria because the Chairman of INEC has no idea on how to win the hearts and minds of voters but is more interested in allegedly accumulating massive flights hours and probably they keep allegedly smiling to their banks with their juicy estacodes paid to top officials of the Federal government for foreign tours.
“This is the time to remind Professor Amupitan that he is not in office as the chief tourist of Nigeria or be in competition with president Bola Ahmed Tinubu on who is the better globetrotting traveller, but he has been given a historic assignment to conduct a free and fair elections going forward just as the hierarchy of INEC must work out possible and workable solutions to the evils of votes’ buying, voters apathy and corruption amongst officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Enough is enough”.
A.I
June 1, 2026
Tags: HURIWA INEC Joash Amupitan Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi