The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has said that with the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Nigerians have high expectations that the new leadership would be led by Prof. Joash Amupitan.
TheHintsNews reports that President Bola Tinubu recently nominated Josh Amupitan as the new INEC chairman after the expiration of the tenure of Prof. Mahood Yakubu.
To this end, IPAC National Chairman, Dr. Yusuf Dantalle called on the commission to justify the confidence the nation reposed in it.
He said this was the only way to rebuild trust in the electoral process and encourage mass participation in future polls.
Dantalle stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during INEC quarterly consultative meeting with political parties.
He said there was a need to continue to sanitise the nation’s democratic system to meet the yearnings of citizens who desire and deserve dividends of constitutional rule, not rhetoric.
Dantalle stressed that after 26 years of unbroken democracy, the ongoing Constitution and Electoral Act amendments provide yet another opportunity to advance our democracy.
He explained that IPAC has been engaging the National Assembly and critical stakeholders on the review of the legal frameworks for sustainable democracy and development.
H noted that IPAC further submitted its proposals to the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review on Monday 6th October 2025, and the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Monday 13th October 2025, at its public hearing at the National Assembly proposing the scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and vesting the responsibility of conducting all Local Governments elections on INEC.
He added that IPAC also submitted proposal on reservation of special seats for women, restoration of funding for political parties to provide for a level playing field for all political parties, establishment of Electoral Offences Commission to try electoral offenders, removal of the power to appoint the INEC Chairman, Secretary, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners from the executive to ensure the independence of the commission from political influence.
Dantalle, therefore, urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the reforms, saying time is of the essence.
His words: “Nigerians expect credible, transparent and inclusive elections where every vote is counted and counts in the overall result.
“The litmus test of the new leadership is the conduct of the November 8, 2025 Anambra State governorship election.
“The success of this off-cycle election will set the stage for the upcoming elections in 2026 including the Federal Capital Territory Area Council polls, Osun and Ekiti States gubernatorial elections and the decisive 2027 general election. INEC should put its acts together and get it right.
“With new leadership, citizens’ expectations are high, very high. The commission should justify the confidence the nation reposed in it. This is the only way to rebuild trust in the electoral process and encourage mass participation in future polls.”
On her part, the Acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu said in less than a month, precisely on 8th November, 2025, the Anambra State Governorship election would be held.
She noted that the commission has been working assiduously and making arrangements for the successful conduct of the Anambra governorship election and have had several engagements with the Security Agencies at National, State and Local Government levels.
Agbamuche-Mbu added: “All non-sensitive materials for the Election have been delivered to the State and Voter Education and sensitization is ongoing.”
She added that the Commission was impressed by the response of Nigerians to the CVR exercise and for us, stressing that this is a testament that Nigerians believe in democracy and the effort of the Commission towards ensuring that all eligible Nigerians are given the right to determine who leads them.