NNMG Warns Against Ethnicising Appointment of New INEC Chairman

By Iyojo Ameh

The Northern Nigeria Minorities Group (NNMG) has cautioned against what it described as attempts by certain individuals and interest groups to ethnicise the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement signed by its Convener, Chief Jacob Edi, the group said it viewed with “consternation” the growing efforts to politicise or regionalise President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nomination of Professor Amupitan, a distinguished scholar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

According to the statement, Professor Amupitan hails from Okun in Kogi State — one of the minority ethnic nationalities in Northern Nigeria. The NNMG noted that the North, comprising 19 states, is richly diverse, with each component “unique, and none superior to the other by tribe, tongue, or faith.”

The group expressed dismay over “the spate of commentaries and social media tirades” by some self-styled northern voices who have criticised the appointment as an alleged act of ethnic bias by the President.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” NNMG said, stressing that this marks the first time in 65 years — since the establishment of a statutory electoral commission in 1959 — that a northern minority has been appointed to head the nation’s electoral body.

The group recalled that even when the position was held consecutively by persons from the North West and North East for over 15 years, northern minorities did not question or contest such decisions.

“We therefore crave the understanding of all Nigerians to see northern minorities as citizens with equal stakes in the Nigerian project,” the statement read. “The habit of fulmination each time one of us is entrusted with national responsibility must stop.”

NNMG further pointed out that the trend of delegitimising northern minority appointments dates back to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when appointments given to such groups were often dismissed as “not northern enough.”

“The current ethnicisation of Professor Amupitan’s appointment is a direct continuation of that ugly and retrogressive trend, and it must stop,” the group warned.

Emphasising that the North is not defined by ethnicity but by geography, inclusivity, and diversity, NNMG issued the following key points:

1. The prevailing narrative reflects a worrying perception among some northern elites who still view northern minorities as mere demographic fillers, undeserving of recognition and privilege.

2. Such thinking, the group said, is antiquated, divisive, and inimical to the spirit of modern governance.

3. After 65 years of independence, appointments should be guided by competence, integrity, and capacity — not parochial sentiments that have stunted national growth.

4. The nomination of Professor Amupitan should be celebrated as a bold step toward inclusivity, equity, and meritocracy — values critical to strengthening Nigeria’s democracy.

The NNMG commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for recognising the diversity within the North and ensuring inclusiveness in his appointments.

It also warned political actors, commentators, and citizens to desist from polarising the nation along ethnic or sectional lines.

“The time for ethnic arithmetic is over,” the statement added. “The era of competence, fairness, and national responsibility must begin in earnest.”

Concluding, NNMG reaffirmed that northern minorities remain “the true stabilising force of the federation,” stressing that “when placed together, we are not just minorities; we are the real majority that believes in the unity and progress of Nigeria.”