Have you, for a moment, thought about the possibility of Nigeria achieving seamless electoral reform if the 2027 general election had been allowed during the Ramadan and Lenten period?
Joash Amupitan is right now sitting on a hot seat. He has got his first baptism of fire during the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council last Saturday. He may be wearing a “crown of thorns”.
Electoral reform and missed opportunity
For years, Nigeria has had many attempts at electoral reform. The more it tries, the worse the elections have become in lacking credibility. A deliberate effort by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to improve the quality of elections and the leadership recruitment process of Nigeria through the empaneling of the Mohammed Uwais Committee was a commendable one. But his untimely death on May 5, 2010, made it impossible for him to implement the robust recommendations by the panels. Up till now, no administration has had the guts to implement the great recommendations that have the capacity to turn things around for good for Nigeria. There have been attempts to sidestep anything called the Uwais panel and the recommendations.
Over the years, after Yar’Adua, there have been make-belief attempts to reform the nation’s electoral process. The cabals in the political space have ensured that meaningful reforms are not instituted because of their personal interests.
Perhaps the 2027 general election could have provided the opportunity for seamless reform if the initial dates for the election had not been changed.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier announced February 20, 2027, as the date for the presidential election, but the National Assembly favoured January 16, 2027, while the governorship election holds January 30, 2027.
The reason for the change in date is that by this time next year, the Ramadan and Lenten fasting could be going on.
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The question many people have been asking is, ‘Why the shift in date?’
During the Ramadan and Lent periods, many Nigerians usually exhibit a high level of piety. So, if elections were to be held at this period, it would mean that there would be no hiring of thugs to foment trouble, nobody would cart away polling boxes, and nobody would cart away polling boxes, intimidate and injure opponents. Dangerous politicians would not go after opponents who are considered serious threats, either to kidnap or kill them, because they are observing fasting. There would be no vote-buying and other criminal actions that have made a nonsense of the nation’s elections.
Although the country is not a theocracy, every one of the policies of the government is moderated by religion. The country observes four major religion-related holidays every year. The federal and state governments sponsor pilgrims for pilgrimage at various times in the year. But beneath the façade of religiosity lies what has over the years become a national disgrace – corruption. This monster is found in many places, including the religious centres. Nigeria has remained a stunted country – development-wise – because of this monster.
The electoral process has been tainted by a high dose of corruption. The touted electoral reforms may just be a smokescreen.
The elections have continued to lose their essence. Whether they are councillorship, chairmanship, governorship or presidential elections, they are always exercises that are laced with too much bile. The high level of corruption around the nation’s electoral process has continued to produce the worst among the people and their leaders at various levels.
Some Nigerians believe that if elections were to hold during Ramadan and Lenten periods, the level of electoral fraud could drastically reduce, as the two religious events are being observed by the same politicians who perpetrate and provide oxygen for all manner of electoral malfeasance.
The thinking is that during the fasting period, the level of criminality reduces. The level of piety at this period could rub off on the election and the general behaviour of politicians and other perpetrators of criminality.
The 2027 general election could have tested the touted claim of readiness for electoral reform without endless townhall (meetings) and long sessions of plenaries at the National Assembly, only if the powers that be had allowed the February date to remain. For crying out loud, Nigeria is a secular state, but the penchant to religionise every policy of government is not helping the country; after all, we are not in a theocracy.
Amupitan’s ‘crown of thorns’
The national assignment placed on the shoulders of Joash Amiputan, a professor, is not a light one. On the face of it, it is something to celebrate for one to have been so highly recognised to handle such a sensitive role. Amupitan came to office at a critical moment in Nigerian electoral history. He succeeded Yakubu Mahmoud, a professor, who is believed by many Nigerians to have largely contributed to the rot in the electoral system of the country. His major fault was the handling of the 2023 general election, which even foreign election observers spoke in tandem was far below expectation.
So, when it was time for Mahmoud to bow out, Nigerians eagerly looked forward to seeing the man who would clean up the huge mess Mahmoud was leaving behind.
On October 9, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated him. He was subsequently confirmed by the Senate on October 16, 2025, and mounted the saddle on October 23, 2025.
For many Nigerians, the job of an INEC chairman can be likened to “a crown of thorns”. It means that though recognised as a king, the crown that comes with it is highly inconvenient.
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When Abraham Lincoln, a former president of America, spoke of the immense burdens and “melancholy” of the presidency, not many people understood what he meant. By the same token, it is only Amupitan that understands the level of melancholy of the INEC as being constituted.
Professor Amupitan is at a crossroads. He is torn between serving the Nigerian people and pleasing those who appointed him into office.
His outing last Saturday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election is already being cheered and jeered in equal measure, depending on the camp the assessors belong to.
For those in the opposition, they seem to be acting to type – when a team loses a football match because it paraded bad players, it turns around to blame the referee.
Of course, those who were victorious at the FCT election are bragging about how fantastic a referee Amupitan is.
Different strokes for different folks! You can say it.
Nigeria is going into a critical national election in 2027, for which the country is already witnessing lots of upheavals.
All eyes are now on Professor Amupitan, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN). His utterances, moves, actions and inactions are being measured and read in different ways by many Nigerians. Even the most innocuous actions may be misunderstood. He is on a very hot seat right now.
The other day, someone said that the INEC chairman’s job was like when a man is handed a revolver to kill himself. Whatever that means. But the question remains: how is Amupitan navigating the dangerous terrain?
