Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) has cautioned the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) against what it described as inflammatory calls for the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan. 
 
While urging the council to join the collective national push for constitutional reform, the group said religious bodies must avoid actions and pronouncements capable of deepening tensions in an already fragile country.
 
CSMN was reacting to comments credited to the SCSN President, Sheikh Bashir Umar, made during the council’s 2026 Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly in Abuja, where he reportedly called for Amupitan’s resignation, describing him as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic credibility. 
 
The Shari’ah body was also said to have warned that Muslims would neither recognise nor legitimise elections conducted under his leadership.
 
In a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Governing Council, Elder Sunday Oibe, and CEO, Bosun Emmanuel, CSMN argued that such threats were unnecessary and risked inflaming sectarian sentiments. 
 
It stressed that the appointment of the INEC chairman remains the constitutional prerogative of the President in conjunction with the National Assembly.
 
Drawing historical parallels, the group noted that former President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, appointed Prof. Attahiru Jega, a Muslim, as INEC chairman without any religious backlash, just as former President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim, appointed Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, also a Muslim, without similar threats of election boycott.
 
It questioned why the appointment of Amupitan under President Bola Tinubu had suddenly provoked religious objections, suggesting that the resistance was rooted more in identity than in merit.