The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has revealed that he reported the controversy surrounding an alleged 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) account linked to him to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police.
Amupitan said an independent report had also been obtained to establish the truth about the account, which allegedly expressed support for President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general election.
The INEC chairman, who insisted that he never operated an 𝕏 account, spoke on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, Naija News reports.
The event, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, was themed, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”
Responding to a question about the outcome of an independent investigation into the allegation, Amupitan said the matter had been reported to security agencies.
He stated, “We have an independent report and the matter was also reported to the DSS as well as to the IG.”
He further explained that he attempted to contact 𝕏 to address the allegation but could not do so because he did not have an account on the platform.
“I never had an 𝕏 account. I tried to get in touch with 𝕏, but there’s no way if you don’t have an account,” he said.
Amupitan added that he only used his Yahoo email account and maintained that the controversial 𝕏 account did not belong to him.
“I have my Yahoo mail. I check Yahoo mail. It was never my account. And that is the truth,” he added.
The INEC chairman also suggested that the controversy was deliberately raised to damage his reputation and weaken public confidence in the electoral commission.
According to him, the allegation surfaced around the time of a court ruling involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the interpretation of the status quo ante bellum order.
He said, “Remember the background. That issue came up when the court ruled that ADC had an issue, and the concept of status quo ante bellum. I don’t want to go back into it. But at the same time, it came about that time.”
Amupitan argued that those seeking to discredit the electoral body could target its chairman to achieve their aim.
He said, “The only way that people could bring down an institution was to say, ‘Oh, this person.’”
He also dismissed earlier allegations that he was part of the legal team that represented Tinubu and that he made false claims about his educational background.
The INEC chairman said investigations by the DSS and police had established that the allegations were untrue.
“There were several accusations before then. For instance, that I was a member of the legal team of the President, that I said I went to school, but that is not true. They were investigated and discovered not to be true.
“So there were also investigations from DSS, from the police. And those things were not true,” he said.
Amupitan, however, expressed confidence in INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, assuring Nigerians that the commission would deliver an election they would be proud of.
The controversy started after an 𝕏 account with the handle @joashamupitan was linked to the INEC chairman.
The account allegedly expressed support for the APC during the 2023 general election.
It reportedly replied to a post by former APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, who had celebrated the party’s victory in a predominantly Igbo community in Lagos, with the words, “Victory is sure.”
The development raised concerns about Amupitan’s neutrality as the head of the electoral body ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, INEC dismissed the allegation, describing it as fabricated and part of an attempt to damage the reputation of the chairman and the commission.
In a statement issued on April 10, 2026, the chairman’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser, Adedayo Oketola, alleged that fraudulent accounts had been created in Amupitan’s name to deceive and defraud members of the public.
The commission said it was working with security agencies and cyber-intelligence units to identify those behind the suspected impersonation.
However, an investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, republished by FactCheckHub, reportedly found similarities between some hidden email and phone details displayed by 𝕏 during account recovery and contact information associated with Amupitan.
The report noted that the available information was not enough to conclusively establish who operated the account.
It explained that access to 𝕏’s internal records, including login history, IP addresses and device information, would be needed to determine who was behind the account.
Similarly, INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, had disclosed that the commission was yet to obtain verified forensic evidence linking Amupitan to the account.
He also said INEC was considering an independent forensic examination of the matter.
