President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday rose in defence of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Joash Amupitan, amid controversy over an alleged partisan social media post.

Akpabio, speaking at the inauguration of the National Revenue Service (NRS) corporate headquarters in Abuja, dismissed claims that the INEC boss had shown political bias, insisting that the statement in question was misinterpreted.

“They brought out a tweet where they said the chairman of INEC said victory is sure. But he didn’t say victory is sure for APC. He did not say victory is sure for PDP. He just said victory is sure,” Akpabio said.

He further argued that the comment being referenced predated Amupitan’s current role, noting that individuals are entitled to personal political views before assuming public office.

“He was not chairman of INEC. He was just a mere lecturer. Anybody can support anybody who he wishes to,” he added.

The Senate President, however, stressed the importance of neutrality for public office holders, particularly those in sensitive institutions such as INEC.

“But when you are on a seat, you have to think of the entire country and all the populace. And that’s what they are doing,” he said.

The controversy followed the resurfacing of a 2023 post by Dayo Israel, which critics linked to an account allegedly associated with Amupitan that responded with the phrase “Victory is sure.”

INEC has since denied the allegations, maintaining that the claims are false and part of a coordinated misinformation campaign.

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