Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed allegations of partisan bias against Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over a controversial social media post.

The claims, which recently surfaced online, alleged that Amupitan operated a personal account on X (formerly Twitter) and used it to endorse a politically charged message. The controversy centred on a post that read “Victory is sure,” which critics interpreted as evidence of political alignment.

However, speaking on Tuesday at the inauguration of the National Revenue Service (NRS) headquarters in Abuja, Akpabio rejected the claims, insisting that the statement was neutral and not tied to any political party.

“They brought out a tweet where they said the chairman of INEC said victory is sure. But he didn’t say victory is sure for APC. He did not say victory is sure for PDP. He just said victory is sure,” Akpabio said.

The Senate President explained that the post in question predated Amupitan’s appointment as INEC chairman, noting that he was a university lecturer at the time.

“And the man said that it’s manipulated. Nobody wants to hear. But for me, whether it is manipulated or not, he said ‘victory is sure’. He was not chairman of INEC. He was just a mere lecturer. Anybody can support anybody who he wishes to,” he added.

Akpabio, however, emphasised that public officials must maintain neutrality while in office, stressing the importance of impartiality in sensitive positions like the electoral body.
“But when you are on a seat, you have to think of the entire country and all the populace. And that’s what they are doing,” he said.

The controversy stems from a 2023 post originally shared by Dayo Israel, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national youth leader, which resurfaced online and was linked to an account allegedly associated with Amupitan.

INEC has since denied the allegations, describing them as false and part of a coordinated misinformation campaign.