The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has denied operating an X account allegedly used to express support for President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress during the 2023 general election, saying the matter has been reported to security agencies and an independent report obtained.
Amupitan spoke on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, with the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
Responding to a question on whether an independent investigation had established that he was not behind the account, the INEC Chairman said the matter had been reported to the State Security Service and the office of the Inspector-General of Police.
“We have an independent report and the matter was also reported to the SSS as well as to the IG,” he said.
Amupitan insisted that he had never operated an account on X, saying his attempt to contact the social media platform over the allegation proved difficult because he was not a user.
“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,” he said.
He added that some civil society organisations had indicated interest in investigating the allegation.
“I have my Yahoo mail. I check Yahoo mail. It was never my account. And that is the truth,” Amupitan said.
The INEC Chairman said the controversy emerged around the time of a court ruling involving the African Democratic Congress and the interpretation of a status quo ante bellum order.
“Remember the background. That issue came up when the court ruled that ADC had an issue, and the concept of status quo ante bellum. I don’t want to go back into it. But at the same time, it came about that time,” he said.
Amupitan suggested that the timing formed part of attempts to discredit him and undermine the electoral commission.
“The only way that people could bring down an institution was to say, ‘Oh, this person,’” he said.
He also rejected other allegations previously made against him, including claims that he had been a member of President Tinubu’s legal team and that he had made false claims concerning his educational background.
According to Amupitan, investigations by the SSS and the police found the allegations to be untrue.
“There were several accusations before then. For instance, that I was a member of the legal team of the President, that I said I went to school, but that is not true. They were investigated and discovered not to be true.
“So there were also investigations from SSS, from the police. And those things were not true,” he said.
Amupitan expressed confidence in INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, saying the Commission would deliver an exercise Nigerians would be proud of.
The controversy followed allegations that an X account bearing the handle @joashamupitan belonged to the INEC Chairman and had expressed support for the APC during the 2023 general election.
The account reportedly responded to a post by former APC National Youth Leader Dayo Israel, celebrating the party’s victory in a predominantly Igbo community in Lagos, with the words, “Victory is sure.”
The allegation subsequently raised questions about Amupitan’s impartiality as head of the electoral commission.
INEC, however, dismissed the allegation as fabricated and intended to undermine the credibility of both its Chairman and the Commission.
In a statement issued on April 10, 2026, Amupitan’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser, Adedayo Oketola, said fraudulent accounts had allegedly been created in the INEC Chairman’s name to mislead and defraud members of the public.
INEC also said it was working with security agencies and cyber-intelligence units to identify those behind the suspected impersonation.
Meanwhile, an investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, republished by FactCheckHub, reportedly found similarities between partially hidden email and telephone details displayed by X for account recovery and contact information associated with Amupitan.
Post Title: “I Never Had An X Account” — Amupitan Denies Pro-APC Posts, Says Matter Reported To SSS, Police By Naijaonpoint.