Prof. Joash Amupitan, the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says he only took the job after what he called “a clear divine conviction that God would strengthen and help him in office.”
Amupitan said at an end-of-tenure thanksgiving service in Abuja for the outgoing President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Israel Akanji, and his wife, Victoria, that he would have turned down the job without that spiritual assurance.
He said, “I wouldn’t take this job if I didn’t believe in it.”
The INEC chairman said that he was guided by what he called a direct message from God when he decided to take the job.
“The Lord said, “Don’t be afraid; don’t be sad.” “I will give you strength, help you, and keep you safe.” “I heard this clearly before I took this job,” Amupitan said.
He said that this belief has continued to guide his work as a leader on the commission, even though overseeing elections in Nigeria is hard and stressful.
He says that divine guidance has kept him going since he took office, and he stresses that no problem is too big for God to handle.
“God can calm every storm, no matter how bad it is or how hard it is.” He said, “That’s what God has been doing.”
Amupitan also asked Nigerians to pray for the commission and the success of the 2027 general elections. He was hopeful that the polls would be better than past ones.
He said, “Keep praying for Nigeria, keep praying for us, and keep praying for me that the 2027 election will be the best ever.”
“I can’t do it alone, but with the Lord on my side, I can do it.”
He warned against taking on responsibilities without a clear sense of divine direction when talking about leadership and service in general.
“My experience as the INEC chairman so far is that you shouldn’t go somewhere if God doesn’t send you there. He said, “Don’t do it if God doesn’t send you.”
His comments come at a time when political activity is picking up across the country in the run-up to the 2027 general elections. Issues like voter trust, technology use, and electoral transparency are already dominating public discussion.
In October 2025, President Bola Tinubu named Amupitan to replace Mahmood Yakubu, whose term ended on October 7 of that year. This made him the commission’s sixth substantive chairman.
He had said before that God had chosen him for the job when he took office at the INEC headquarters right after being sworn in at the State House. He said the same thing in his most recent comments.
At the same time, people are still looking closely at his leadership because of recent scandals involving claims that he showed support for President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress on social media during the 2023 elections.
Opposition leaders and civil society groups are worried about the electoral body’s perceived neutrality before the 2027 elections, and some are calling for his resignation.
The controversy grew when it was said that digital traces linked an X account, which was previously linked to Amupitan, to earlier partisan posts.
