A civil society group, Opposition Watch Nigeria (OWN), has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), to respond to allegations linking him to an alleged land inducement involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
In a statement signed by its Media Coordinator, Aisha Bello on Wednesday, the group alleged that the INEC chairman secretly met with the FCT minister in December 2025 and was subsequently allocated a prime plot of land in Abuja’s Asokoro District.
OWN claimed that the alleged allocation was tied to efforts to frustrate the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which it described as the duly elected leadership of the party.
According to the group, the purported meeting and land allocation form part of what it termed a “well-oiled deal” aimed at influencing INEC’s position in the PDP’s internal leadership dispute. OWN alleged that the commission, under Amupitan’s watch, had attempted to recognise a group it described as “Wike-backed” in place of the Turaki-led NWC elected at the party’s National Convention in Ibadan.
The group further accused INEC of convening a controversial meeting of PDP stakeholders allegedly to legitimise the rival faction, an action it said contravened the PDP constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
OWN also linked the allegations to what it described as a broader political strategy by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to weaken opposition forces ahead of the 2027 general elections.
It claimed that reported land revocations and reallocations in the FCT have followed a pattern of being used as political inducements or punishments, raising concerns about the neutrality of public institutions.
The group demanded an independent and transparent investigation into the allegations, public disclosure of the INEC chairman’s asset declarations since assuming office, and his immediate resignation to preserve public confidence in the electoral body.
“As a platform committed to defending democratic principles, transparency, and the rule of law in Nigeria, we maintain that democracy cannot survive if the electoral referee is compromised by inducements,” the statement said.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the INEC chairman nor the FCT minister had responded to the allegations.
