The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has labelled social media platform X users as ‘digital imposters’ whose sole aim is to assasinate the character and intergrity of the commission’s leadership.
ENigeria Newspaper gathered this in a statement released by the electoral body in response to the alleged postulation on social media that an X (formerly Twitter) account belonging to INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, once responded to the tweet of a popular APC Chieftain named Dayo Isreal, writing, ‘Victory is sure’.
Netizens began to express outrage over a show of partisan bias on his account, alleging that he endorsed a political post. This act, according to them, cannot be spared especially for an election umpire who will be in charge of an election that involve the party he once endorsed and an opposition party struggling to find its feet ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Recently, leaders of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, have taken to the streets of Abuja to protest and call for the resignation of the INEC Chairman after a purported show of partisanship in the commission’s act of delisting the party’s leadership under former Senator David Mark.
However, the INEC chairman’s main press secretary and media adviser, Adedayo Oketola, called the accusations “total fabrication” and “baseless” in a statement released in Abuja, and obtained by ENigeria Newspaper.
The chairman’s office characterized the reports as a deliberate and well-planned campaign of defamation intended to compromise the election umpire’s credibility. The commission claims that the fabricated post is a last-ditch effort to undermine the leadership’s impartiality at a crucial juncture in election reform.
“INEC CHAIRMAN HAS NO ACCOUNT ON X, DISREGARD PARTISAN FABRICATIONS”, the statement read.
“The attention of the Office of the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has been drawn to a malicious and coordinated campaign of calumny circulating on social media. The false claim alleges that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has, in the past, endorsed a partisan post on the platform X (formerly Twitter).”
“The Commission wishes to state categorically that this allegation is entirely baseless, a total fabrication, and a figment of the imagination of its purveyors. For the avoidance of doubt, the INEC Chairman does not own or operate any personal account on X. He has at no time engaged in partisan commentary, nor has he ever associated himself with any political leaning or activity in his private or public capacity.”
“The Commission will not fold its arms while the character of its leadership is being assassinated by digital imposters and mischief-makers. We wish to notify the public that we are working in close collaboration with relevant security agencies and cyber-intelligence units to track and identify the individuals or groups behind this identity theft and misinformation.”
“Let it be clearly understood that the Commission will ensure that these imposters face the full wrath of the law. Identity theft and the dissemination of deepfake or forged social media interactions are criminal offenses under the Cybercrimes Act. Those responsible for this mischief will be tracked and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others who believe the digital space is a safe haven for criminality.”
For official information, the Commission advised Nigerians to disregard the widely circulated claim and depend solely on its verified outlets.
“The general public is hereby urged to disregard this falsehood in its entirety. We will continue to disseminate official information regarding the Commission and the Chairman’s activities only through our verified institutional channels and formal press statements.”
INEC reiterated its dedication to holding legitimate elections throughout Nigeria.
“The Commission remains undeterred and fully committed to its mandate of delivering free, fair, and credible elections for all Nigerians.”
