NNMG cautions against ethnicising the appointment of the new INEC Chairman

The Northern Nigeria Minorities Group (NNMG) has expressed concern over ongoing attempts by certain individuals and interest groups to ethnicise the nomination of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

For the avoidance of doubt, Professor Amupitan is an Okun man from Kogi State, one of the minority ethnic nationalities in Northern Nigeria. The North comprises 19 states, each richly diverse and unique, with none superior to the other by tribe, tongue, or faith.

The group noted with dismay the recent wave of commentaries and social media tirades credited to some self-styled northern voices who have criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nomination of Professor Amupitan — a distinguished scholar, refined legal mind, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria — as yet another act of alleged ethnic preference.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” the NNMG stated.

The group clarified that this is the first time in 65 years, since the establishment of a statutory electoral commission in 1959, that a northern minority has been appointed to lead it. Despite decades of appointments dominated by the North West and North East — which held the position consecutively for 15 years — no northern minority group had ever questioned such decisions.

The NNMG therefore urged Nigerians to recognise northern minorities as citizens with equal stakes in the Nigerian project and to stop the habit of public criticism whenever one of them is entrusted with national responsibility.

The group recalled that this unfortunate trend of delegitimising northern minority appointments began during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, when appointments extended to northern minorities were often dismissed as “not northern enough.” The current ethnicisation of Professor Amupitan’s appointment, it said, is a direct continuation of that retrogressive pattern — and must stop.

According to the NNMG, the North is not defined by ethnicity but is a broad, inclusive, and inherently multi-ethnic geographical expression. Those promoting such malicious rhetoric, the group said, are enemies of national unity and progress.

The NNMG further stated as follows:

1. The ongoing narrative underscores the group’s concern that some northern elites still view northern minorities as mere fillers of demography, undeserving of the privileges and recognition that come with their place in the federation.

2. Such thinking is antiquated, divisive, and contrary to the spirit of modern governance.

3. After 65 years of independence, the guiding principle for public appointments should be competence, integrity, and capacity, not parochial sentiments that have hindered national growth.

4. The appointment of Professor Amupitan should therefore be celebrated as a bold step toward inclusivity, equity, and meritocracy — values that must be embraced if Nigeria is to strengthen its democracy.

The group commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for recognising the diversity of the North and giving all constituent groups a sense of belonging in his appointments.

Finally, the NNMG cautioned against any further attempt to polarise the nation along ethnic or sectional lines. It urged political actors, commentators, and citizens alike to rise above petty identity politics and focus on building institutions that work, regardless of who leads them.

> “The time for ethnic arithmetic is over. The era of competence, fairness, and national responsibility must begin in earnest,” the statement read.

The group reiterated that northern minorities collectively constitute a stabilising force in Nigeria’s federation. When united, they are not merely minorities but the true majority that believes in the unity and progress of Nigeria.