Former presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, has questioned the whereabouts of the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, following widespread commendations of the commission’s handling of the Osun State governorship election.

Shehu, a former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, raised the question in a statement on Wednesday reflecting on Amupitan’s leadership of INEC and the commission’s performance during the August 15, 2026, Osun governorship election.

The former presidential aide said he had never met Amupitan and initially had reservations about his appointment as INEC chairman following the resurfacing of a 2020 legal brief attributed to the professor, in which he allegedly described violence in Nigeria as a Muslim pogrom against Christians.

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Shehu, however, said his initial concerns had changed after witnessing what he described as an improved and transparent electoral process during the Osun election.

According to him, the violence affecting Nigeria has impacted people across religious and ethnic divides, making the position attributed to Amupitan in the 2020 document troubling to him and others.

He recalled the performances of former INEC chairmen, Professor Attahiru Jega and Professor Mahmood Yakubu, saying Nigeria’s electoral process had progressively improved under their leadership.

Shehu particularly praised the conduct of the Osun governorship election, noting that civil society organisations, local and international observers and other stakeholders had reportedly commended the process.

He also highlighted the uploading of polling unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, IReV, describing it as a major improvement in electoral transparency.

However, despite the positive assessments, Shehu said he was surprised that Amupitan had not publicly addressed Nigerians or appeared before television cameras to highlight what he considered the commission’s achievements.

“With all the loud acclaim that followed, however, I have been asking myself, where is the captain of the ship, Professor Amupitan?” Shehu asked.

He noted that Amupitan had not publicly celebrated the development nearly 48 hours after the election, describing his silence as unusual in a country where public officials are often quick to claim credit for their achievements.

Shehu said Amupitan’s restraint and humility were refreshing, but jokingly questioned whether the INEC chairman should not “come out of his shell and dance to the drums in celebration” of the commission’s performance.

The comments come after Governor Ademola Adeleke emerged victorious in the Osun governorship election, securing 511,067 votes to defeat APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes, according to the announced results.

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