The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed rumours that its chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, is set to resign, describing the circulating report as false and misleading.
The commission debunked the claim in a statement posted on its X account on Saturday.
Quoting an image of the alleged resignation report, INEC wrote: “FAKE NEWS ALERT!”
“The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to a misleading image circulating on social media alleging that the INEC Chairman is set to resign.
“The claim is FALSE, FABRICATED AND MISLEADING,” the statement read.
INEC urged members of the public to disregard the report and avoid sharing information that had not been verified.
“Members of the public are urged to disregard the fabricated report, refrain from sharing unverified information and rely solely on INEC’s official communication channels for authentic information.
“Stop the spread of fake news,” the commission added.
The clarification comes amid growing controversy surrounding Amupitan following a confrontation with Nigerian protesters in London on Thursday, November 13.
The protesters had surrounded the vehicle conveying the INEC chairman outside Chatham House, where he was scheduled to participate in a discussion on Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
During the confrontation, the demonstrators accused INEC of compromising its neutrality and favouring President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the next general elections.
They also demanded Amupitan’s resignation, accusing the commission of irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register, including alleged duplicate registrations, questionable polling units and photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence.
The demonstration followed public criticism of the commission after images and records purportedly showing suspicious entries in the preliminary voters’ register circulated on social media.
INEC had acknowledged irregularities in the registration process and announced an investigation into the affected records.
Despite the protests, Amupitan had earlier called on Nigerians to trust his leadership, promising to deliver free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in 2027.
Speaking at the Chatham House event, the INEC chairman acknowledged that the commission was yet to fully recover from the trust deficit created by the technical glitches associated with the 2023 general elections.
He, however, assured Nigerians that inaccurate polling unit results would not find their way onto the commission’s INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) during the 2027 elections.
“Why must Nigerians trust me? Nigerians must trust me because, number one, I have conducted off-cycle elections—and observers agree that the recent election in Osun State marked a clear improvement,” he said.
Amupitan cited the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections, the Ekiti governorship election and 16 legislative by-elections as examples of electoral exercises conducted under his leadership.
He also recalled that the 2021 Anambra governorship election took roughly five days to conclude, while results in the more recent Anambra and Osun elections were declared the day after voting.
Amupitan succeeded former INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, whose second and final tenure ended in October 2025.
