The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as INEC Chairman, alleging it is a political move to influence the 2027 elections.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, described the appointment as “a calculated bid to capture the electoral process,” accusing President Tinubu of installing a loyalist to secure advantage for the APC.
HURIWA claimed that Professor Amupitan, a senior advocate and respected law scholar from Kogi State, was “handpicked to protect the political interests of the incumbent administration,” and challenged him to “prove his independence through actions, not associations.”
In a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, described the appointment as “a calculated bid to capture the electoral process,” accusing President Tinubu of installing a loyalist to secure advantage for the APC.
“This appointment is not anchored on merit but on manipulation,” HURIWA alleged. “President Tinubu appears desperate to consolidate power ahead of 2027, and this choice only deepens public suspicion about INEC’s neutrality.”
The group argued that unless the Electoral Act is urgently amended to make the use of BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) legally binding, the 2027 polls risk being compromised.
Recalling the controversies surrounding the 2023 general elections, HURIWA said the lessons of that experience appear “unlearned,” as the government seems more determined to preserve influence than to protect integrity.
The association also expressed concern over the ongoing wave of defections by opposition politicians to the ruling APC, describing it as “a coercive political migration fuelled by fear of persecution from anti-graft agencies acting as instruments of intimidation.”
“Nigeria is witnessing a dangerous trend where power is weaponised to silence dissent,” the statement added. “The Presidency appears to be shrinking the democratic space ahead of the next elections.”
HURIWA further decried what it called the “premature campaign fever” marked by the early display of Tinubu 2027 campaign billboards across major cities, describing it as “a clear breach of electoral decorum and an affront to democratic ethics.”
The association urged Professor Amupitan to rise above political pressure and assert the independence of INEC, warning that the credibility of future elections — and the peace of the nation — rest on his shoulders.
“If INEC succumbs to executive manipulation, the 2027 elections could plunge the country into avoidable political crisis,” HURIWA cautioned.