The Northern Nigeria Minorities Group (NNMG) has condemned ongoing attempts by certain individuals and interest groups to ethnicise the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Tinubu nominated Professor Amupitan on Thursday 9 October 2025 to replace Mahmood Yakubu, also a professor, who has led INEC since 2015 and stepped down as his second term of five years drew to a close.
Professor Amupitan’s nomination has also been ratified by the National Council of State (NCS).
“In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening,” President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategg Bayo Onanuga said recently.
In a statement by the convener of the NNMG Jocob Idi-’Kakaki Basange’, the group said that for the avoidance of doubt, Professor Amupitan is an Okunman from Kogi State, one of the minority ethnic nationalities in Northern Nigeria.
“There are 19 states in the North, each richly diverse and unique, none superior to the other by tribe, tongue, or faith.
“We have observed, with dismay, the spate of commentaries and social media tirades credited to some self-styled northern voices taking umbrage at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nomination of Professor Amupitan, a distinguished scholar, refined legal mind, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as yet another act of alleged ethnic preference.Nothing could be further from the truth.”
According to NNMG, while not admitting any wrongdoing on the part of the President, we wish to note that this is the first time in 65 years since the establishment of a statutory electoral commission in 1959 that a northern minority has been appointed to lead it.
The statement added that “In all these decades, no northern minority group has ever questioned the decisions of successive Heads of State or Presidents to appoint individuals they felt comfortable working with, even when the North West and North East held the position consecutively for 15 years.
“We therefore crave the understanding of all Nigerians to see northern minorities as citizens with equal stakes in the Nigerian project and to cease the habit of fulmination each time one of us is entrusted with national responsibility.”
NNMG recalled that this unfortunate trend of delegitimising northern minority appointments gained traction during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, when any appointment extended to a northern minority was derisively 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.
“It is important to emphasise that the North is not defined by ethnicity; it is a geographical expression which is broad, inclusive, and inherently multi-ethnic. Those peddling this skewed, malicious rhetoric are, in truth, the enemies of national unity and progress.
“This jejune narrative underscores our growing concern that some of our northern colleagues continue to perceive northern minorities merely as fillers of demography, unworthy of the privileges and recognition that come with our place in the federation,” NNMG stressed.
The Northern Minority group emphasized that such thinking remains rather antiquated, divisive, and inimical to the spirit of modern governance.
The statement added that “After 65 years of independence, our directive principle should be competence, integrity, and capacity, not these parochial sentiments that have stunted the growth and development of our great nation.
“The appointment of Professor Amupitan should be celebrated as a bold step toward inclusivity, equity, and meritocracy… these are values that must be internalized as a matter of national urgency if we are to strengthen our democracy.
“We commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for recognizing the diversity of the North and for giving all constituent groups a sense of belonging in his appointments,”
NNMG therefore cautioned against any further attempt to polarise this nation along ethnic or sectional lines.
“We urge political actors, commentators, and citizens alike to rise above petty identity politics and focus on building institutions that work, irrespective of who heads them.
“The time for ethnic arithmetic is over. The era of competence, fairness, and national responsibility must begin in earnest.
“We must reiterate, without ambiguity, that northern minorities collectively constitute the true stabilising force of this federation — and when placed together, we are not just “minorities”; we are the real majority that believes in the unity and progress of Nigeria,” NNMG said.
