Prominent legal scholar Professor Chidi Odinkalu has alleged that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, signed a resignation letter before taking office as a condition of his appointment — and that the threat of releasing it was used to pressure him into withdrawing recognition from the David Mark-led National Working Committee of the African Democratic Congress.

“I have it on the most impeccable authority that there is a pre-signed resignation letter by Chairman Amupitan,” Odinkalu wrote on X on Wednesday night. “It was a precondition for his appointment. Ultimately, that had to be called in aid by those who persuaded him to issue this release. The threat of releasing it did the magic.”

The allegation directly links INEC’s intervention in the ADC leadership dispute to what Odinkalu describes as a leverage arrangement that compromised the commission’s independence from the outset.

Odinkalu also noted that INEC’s decision came roughly 60 hours after senior officials of the commission held meetings with the Presidency, justices of the Court of Appeal, and the Federal High Court — a sequence of events he said was not coincidental.

He further criticised the commission for interpreting a Court of Appeal judgment rather than referring it back to the judiciary for clarification. “It is not the business of INEC to interpret the decision of the Court of Appeal,” he said. “If they had any doubt, an INEC governed by good faith should have gone back to the Court of Appeal to secure an interpretation of the decision.”

A warning about 2027
Beyond the immediate controversy, Odinkalu warned of what he described as a coordinated effort involving INEC, elements within the judiciary, and the ruling All Progressives Congress to limit political competition ahead of the 2027 general elections. He alleged that the only opposition platform likely to be permitted alongside the incumbent would be the Peoples Democratic Party, which he linked to the political influence of Nyesom Wike.

“That will not be much of an election,” he said, warning that the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process — and the stability of the country — could be at serious risk if the allegations prove true.