•Dickson pledges to support new INEC chair

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate will today screen President Bola Tinubu’s nominee for the position of Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN,

A statement yesterday by Director of Information, Office of the Secretary, Research and Information Department of the National Assembly, Mr. Bullah Bi-Allah, said the exercise would take place at Senate Chamber, Abuja.

According to the statement, television stations are expected to broadcast the event live.

Tinubu had, last week, transmitted the nomination of Amupitan, a law professor, to the senate for confirmation as the new INEC chairman, following the expiration of Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

The screening exercise is expected to attract keen national interest, given the pivotal role of the electoral umpire in Nigeria’s democratic process.

Meanwhile, former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, has pledged to support Amupitan’s appointment during the screening exercise today.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Dickson, who represents Bayelsa West in the senate, and is a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, said he had conducted his own assessment of Amupitan’s qualifications and integrity and found him competent to lead reforms at the electoral body.

He stated, “I believe that a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, conscious of his standing in the academic and legal community, will have something to work for.

“With everyone’s support, he should be able to introduce the reforms we need in our electoral system and within INEC itself.

“A person of his calibre should understand that beyond the judgment of men and of the courts, there is also the judgement of God and of posterity. I believe he will do things differently. That is why I will be supporting his nomination.”

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