INEC Dismisses Alleged Pro-APC Tweet by Chairman Amupitan, Blames Digital Impersonation Plot

A fresh controversy surrounding Nigeria’s electoral umpire has taken a new turn after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected claims that its Chairman, Joash Amupitan, made a partisan post supporting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The commission insists the viral allegation is part of a coordinated attempt to damage its credibility and cast doubt on its leadership, describing the supposed tweet as fake and digitally manipulated.

INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, said during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief that the claims were built on misinformation and online manipulation rather than verified evidence.

He maintained that internal forensic checks pointed to fabrication, arguing that the story being circulated was engineered to undermine public trust in the electoral body ahead of future elections.

“The agenda is just to discredit Prof. Joash Amupitan,” Bayode said. “What the forensic report is showing is that the post was fabricated.”

The disputed post, which surfaced on social media platform X, allegedly linked the INEC chairman to political support for the APC during the 2023 general elections. The claim quickly triggered backlash online, with opposition voices demanding accountability and even calling for resignation.

Bayode, however, pushed back strongly, stating that the account associated with the alleged post had been altered and was part of a wider pattern of digital impersonation being investigated by cybersecurity authorities.

He added that a new account using the same username was created in April 2026, complicating the investigation but reinforcing suspicions of coordinated digital interference.

According to him, INEC is now working with the Nigeria Police Force and the National Cybercrime Centre to trace the origin of the content and establish the full chain of manipulation.

“The National Cybercrime Centre will need to do a thorough job to come out with the facts,” he said, stressing that conclusions should not be drawn from screenshots alone.

Bayode also warned that artificial intelligence tools could worsen public confusion, noting that platforms like X’s Grok system may produce inaccurate interpretations if used without verification.

“I think all these are in the public domain, so anyone who wants to create havoc can use all of this information,” he added.