The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Adewole Adebayo, says the integrity of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Joash Amupitan, will be in doubt if an X account allegedly linked to him is proven to be his after his denial.
Speaking on Channels Television’s _Sunday Politics_, Adebayo argued that the issue goes beyond technical details and strikes at public trust in the electoral umpire.
Adebayo noted that while digital content can be manipulated, forensic tools can establish the true ownership of online accounts. “It is well known that in the digital space, you could manipulate anything, but there is forensic tracing of identity,” he stated.
He said the matter could be resolved either through the courts or a legislative inquiry by the National Assembly. “It is either someone will go to court to challenge his qualification on grounds of partisanship and present evidence or the National Assembly will conduct an investigation, possibly through its INEC committees,” he added.
The former presidential candidate clarified that ownership of the account would not automatically disqualify Amupitan under the law. “The requirement is that at the time of appointment, you should not be a member of any political party. It does not mean you could not have been a member in the past or that you did not vote. Someone who voted in 2023 can still become INEC chairman in 2025,” he said.
For Adebayo, the central issue is honesty and public confidence in the electoral body. “In a simple matter like this, if you are already lying to the public and we are to trust you with determining election outcomes, then it becomes a question of integrity,” he said.
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