From A Well-Meaning Nigerian Who Still Believes in Our Hard-Fought Democracy
Dear Professor Amupitan,
I write to you today, being a Sunday and a day for reflection, not as an enemy, albeit partisan, but importantly as a heartbroken son of Nigeria, an ordinary citizen, a youth, a medical professional, and a patriot who has watched our electoral umpire teeter on the brink of a credibility collapse. I speak with a heavy heart, for I know the weight you carry. You are a distinguished Professor of Law, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a scholar of corporate governance and evidence law, a man from Aiyetoro-Gbede in Kogi State who rose through the ranks of the University of Jos to earn the trust of a nation. Your appointment in October 2025 was hailed by many as a chance for a new beginning after Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s decade-long tenure. Yet today, barely six months in, the air is thick with distrust, protests, and urgent calls for your resignation.
Sir, the facts are no longer hidden. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) leadership crisis has become a national wound. INEC’s decision to derecognise the David Mark-led faction – citing compliance with a Court of Appeal judgment of March 12, 2026 – has been met with accusations of bias, selective justice, and external influence. The party has demanded your immediate resignation. The Kwankwasiyya Movement, on April 2, 2026, declared that you have “lost the moral authority, public trust, and institutional credibility required to continue in office.” The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria and other voices joined the chorus earlier this year. Even more damaging, Professor Chidi Odinkalu has publicly alleged that a pre-signed resignation letter was a precondition for your appointment – a claim that, whether true or not, has shattered public confidence and painted INEC as an institution under invisible control.
I do not sit in judgment over the legal merits of the ADC matter. What breaks my heart is the perception – now widespread – that the referee has chosen a side. Surveys by groups like YIAGA Africa already show that over half of Nigerians do not trust INEC, scarred by the controversies of 2023 and the lingering questions around BVAS and result transmission. The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has warned explicitly: fail to reverse course, and you risk triggering a full-blown credibility crisis ahead of the 2027 general elections. Opposition voices accuse the commission of fuelling division in opposition parties. Protests are planned. Social media echoes with despair. And with off-cycle polls already on the horizon, the storm clouds are gathering.
Professor Amupitan, this is not about you alone. It is about Nigeria’s soul. I remember the hope that greeted your swearing-in on October 23, 2025 – a professor, not a politician, a man of learning sworn to uphold the Electoral Act without fear or favour. Yet today, well-meaning Nigerians – not faceless critics, but those who queue in the rain to vote, who teach their children that democracy works – are begging you with tears in their eyes: step aside honourably. Do it voluntarily before the courts or the National Assembly are forced to act. Do it for the sanctity of the ballot box you swore to protect. Do it so that a fresh, untainted leadership can begin the urgent work of rebuilding trust – transparent guidelines, and genuine independence – before the 2027 polls become a theatre of suspicion rather than a celebration of the people’s will.
I appeal to the scholar in you, the father, the man of faith and integrity. History will not remember the technicalities of court judgments if the institution you lead enters 2027 with the stench of captured refereeing. But it will forever honour the man who chose country over position, who said, “My legacy is not power, but the restoration of faith in our democracy.” Nigeria has lost too many institutions to suspicion. Do not let INEC be the next. Spare our children the pain of another disputed election. Give them a chance to believe that the umpire can be neutral.
I plead with you, Sir, in the name of the millions who still love this country: step aside now. Let the healing begin. Let a new chairman, unburdened by these shadows, steer INEC into the light. The 2027 elections are not just another poll – they are the test of whether our democracy survives or dies by a thousand cuts of distrust.
I remain, with profound respect and even greater hope,
A Well-Meaning Nigerian,
Who Yearns for Credible Elections and a United Nigeria.
Dr Antigha Cobham Rtd writes from Calabar South LGA, Cross River State.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Dr Antigha Cobham Rtd and do not represent the opinion of TheInvestigator or any other organisation the author works for/with.
