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Joash Amupitan lied, digital footprint confirms INEC boss was pro-Tinubu, APC campaigner
Despite the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Chairman, Joash Amupitan’s denial of previous ties with President Bola Tinubu, fresh evidence shows his Yahoo mail and phone number are linked to the same X account that declared “victory is sure” for the All Progressives Congress in March 2023.
On Friday, Mr Amupitan through his spokesperson, Adedayo Oketola, issued a rebuttal on claims the INEC chairman was Mr Tinubu’s supporter, affirming he’s a neutral appointee, a requirement mandated by the constitution to protect the sanctity of the nation’s election space.
Mr Oketola in the statement claiming Mr Amupitan “does not own or operate any personal account on X. He has at no time engaged in partisan commentary, nor has he ever associated himself with any political leaning or activity in his private or public capacity.”
However, open-source intelligence (OSINT) findings appear to contradict the claim.
@joashamupitan tweeted “victory is sure” to reply a post by one of the APC leaders, Dayo Israel, announcing that the party had won seven of the 10 polling units in an opposition stronghold largely populated by Igbo voters.
Further checks revealed that the account was registered using the email address amu***anj@yahoo.com — the same email listed on a curriculum vitae attributed to Mr Amupitan. The CV also included his former institutional email, amu***anj@unijos.edu.ng, from his time as a professor at the University of Jos.
To verify amu***anj@yahoo.com email address, Yahoo asked to send notifications to the linked phone number, 0803***4099, the same line linked to an Opay customer account with username “Joash Ojo Amupitan.”
Opay accounts usually comprise a customer’s phone number without the first zero. In this case, 8035074099, listed the account user as Joash Ojo Amupitan.
Contacted on Saturday by the Peoples Gazette for his reaction on the fresh findings, Mr Oketola said, “We stand by our statement. A statement was issued yesterday and that is our official position on the matter.”
That the X account registered with amupitanj@yahoo.com linked to a phone number bearing Mr Amupitan’s full name casts doubt on the INEC chairman’s claim he had no alliance with the APC nor Mr Tinubu, desperately seeking re-election in 2027.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has predicted rainy and sunny weather nationwide from Monday to Wednesday.
NiMet’s weather outlook released on Sunday predicted sunny skies over the northern region on Monday morning, with a chance of thunderstorms.
NiMet anticipated moderate rains over parts of Taraba and Adamawa.
According to the agency, isolated thunderstorms with moderate rainfall are possible over parts of Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Adamawa, and Taraba during the afternoon or evening hours.
For the North-Central region, a cloudy atmosphere with intervals of sunshine is anticipated during the morning hours, with a chance of isolated thunderstorms and moderate rainfall over Niger, Kogi, Kwara, and the FCT.
There is a risk of thunderstorms with moderate rainfall over parts of the Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory later in the day.
NiMet envisaged a cloudy atmosphere over the southern region during the morning hours, with a chance of isolated thunderstorms and moderate rainfall over parts of Abia, Enugu, Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom.
The agency predicted isolated thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rains over parts of Oyo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Osun, Ekiti, Anambra, Ondo, Ogun, Edo, Imo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Lagos, Cross River and Akwa Ibom later in the day.
NiMet forecasted sunny skies over the northern region during the morning hours on Tuesday.
According to the agency, there is a possibility of thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rainfall over parts of Kaduna, Adamawa and Taraba during the afternoon and evening hours.
The agency predicted a cloudy atmosphere in the North-Central region, with intervals of sunshine in the morning.
There is a risk of thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rainfall over parts of Benue, the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Plateau during the afternoon or evening hours.
For the southern region, a cloudy atmosphere is anticipated during the morning hours, with a chance of isolated thunderstorms and light rains over parts of Enugu, Imo, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom.
There is a possibility of isolated thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rainfall over parts of Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom States during the afternoon or evening hours.
NiMet predicted sunny skies over the northern region during the morning hours on Wednesday. It anticipated thunderstorms, with or without rain, over parts of Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Adamawa.
The agency predicted isolated thunderstorms accompanied by moderate rains over parts of Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba and Adamawa later in the day.
NiMet predicted a cloudy atmosphere in the North-Central region, with intervals of sunshine anticipated during the morning hours.
There is a possibility of isolated thunderstorms with moderate rainfall over parts of Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger, Benue, and the Federal Capital Territory during the afternoon or evening hours.
For the southern region, a cloudy atmosphere with intervals of sunshine is anticipated during the morning hours.
Later in the day, thunderstorms with moderate rains are expected over the entire southern region.
NiMet urged the public to take adequate precautions and ensure that loose objects are secured to prevent collisions, as strong winds may precede rainfall in areas where thunderstorms are likely.
(NAN)
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