Dare Babalola
A public affairs commentator, Mahdi Shehu, has criticised the handling of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan.
In a post shared on X on Monday, Shehu warned that President Bola Tinubu faces limited options as public pressure mounts.
He accused both the President and his allies of either underestimating the seriousness of the allegations against the electoral umpire or deliberately testing the patience of Nigerians.
“Either BAT and Amupitan do not understand the gravity of the situation surrounding the INEC Chairman’s current scandal or they do but are testing the patience of Nigerians and thus pushing their individual and collective luck too far,” he wrote.
The commentator expressed concern over what he described as the President’s continued silence despite widespread calls for the INEC Chairman to step aside in the interest of safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.
“BAT as usual decided to remain silent and mute on the genuine calls for INEC Chairman to resign in the overriding interest of democracy,” Shehu stated.
Shehu further alleged that the embattled electoral chief was resorting to “desperate survival measures” to contain the controversy, including attempts to distance himself from a controversial social media account and dismiss claims of partisanship.
“INEC chairman is busy deploying desperate survival measures by editing his X account and pretending he was not the owner even when his ID number remains unchanged.
“Claiming that some people impersonated him on the issue of his past and current X account and partisan postings,” he said.
He also accused the INEC boss of attempting to intimidate critics.
“Threatening to arrest all people who keep on talking about his partisanship and X account avoidable blunder which is very obvious,” Shehu added.
According to him, the President’s silence may not be sustainable, insisting that a response to the growing controversy is inevitable.
“However, there is a limit and time frame for BAT’s continued silence on the subject matter. He will talk. He MUST to the public,” he declared.
Shehu maintained that resignation remains the only viable outcome for the electoral chief, arguing that continued resistance would only deepen the crisis and erode public trust.
“INEC chairman may deploy all the tactics at his disposal but RESIGN he will because there is no option to that,” he said.
He warned of political consequences for both the President and the INEC Chairman if decisive action is not taken, suggesting that failure to act could damage their reputations and further weaken confidence in the electoral system.
“If Tinubu refuses to sack INEC chairman he will lose more than INEC. If INEC chairman refuses to resign he will lose more than INEC and lose more than BAT,” he wrote.
The commentator concluded that public confidence in the electoral body has already been significantly eroded, stressing that the unfolding situation could have lasting implications for Nigeria’s democratic credibility.
“Majority Nigerians have lost faith and confidence in the INEC chairman… identified him as partial and partisan, dishonest to himself and the public,” Shehu asserted, invoking the legal maxim, “He who goes to equity must go with clean hands.”
