Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, has called on Joash Amupitan, the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), not yield to political intimidation or manipulation in the discharge of his duties.
Oyintiloye, who was a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, made the call while addressing journalists on Sunday in Osogbo, urging the INEC boss to demonstrate a high level of courage and integrity in the face of intimidation from politicians, especially the opposition parties, ahead of the off-cycle and general elections.
He also advised Amupitan not to disappoint Nigerians and to resist all forms of undue pressure from politicians, especially opposition who may seek to blackmail the Commission to discredit valid electoral processes.
According to him, the Commission, under Amupitan’s leadership, must act in line with the established rules and regulations, as well as, acceptable standard of practice to avoid committing errors in the face of pressure from politicians.
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The former lawmaker said, “All eyes are on the new INEC boss, and I want to advise him to stay focused and resist all forms of pressure that could undermine the integrity of the Commission. Amupitan must ignore all forms of negative criticism and ensure he abides by the laid-down rules and regulations for the conduct of free and fair elections in the country.
”Those who lost elections will continue to undermine the efforts of the commission towards conducting a credible elections in the country for their own personal gain, but the INEC boss must fear no one. He must apply the rules without favour,” he added.
Oyintiloye who also commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Amupitan for the job, saying his choice could not have been a mistake said that “Amupitan’s appointment by the President shows that he is a man of integrity and honour with capacity to sanitise the country’s electoral processes.”
He, however, noted that the November Anambra governorship election and the 2026 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun would be a litmus test for Amupitan.
While congratulating him on his appointment, Oyintiloye further said all eyes are on the new INEC boss to protect the integrity of the electoral Commission.
