• Youths, CSOs protest alleged political persecution of INEC boss
Okun Development Association (ODA), the umbrella socio-cultural organisation of the Yoruba people in Kogi State, has affirmed confidence in the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, with a call for national restraint in public commentary relating to internal party disputes ahead of the 2027 elections.

The group urged Nigerians to grant Amupitan, a son of the soil, the calm and institutional space needed to serve the nation with neutrality, courage and the desired result.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, ODA’s President-General, Ambassador Akenson Rotimi, on behalf of Okun sons and daughters worldwide, extended appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for Amupitan’s appointment, noting that the body received his appointment as “a clear endorsement of competence and character, and as a call to national service, anchored on merit.”

Rotimi observed that “the confidence reposed in Prof. Amupitan (SAN) is an honour to Okunland, to Kogi State.

Meanwhile, hundreds of youths in Aiyetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Council of the state and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)have protested what they described as a politically-motivated attempt to undermine the INEC leadership.

The demonstrators, drawn from various youth and civil society groups, marched through major streets of the community, voicing strong support for the independence of the electoral body and expressing confidence in Amupitan.

Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Enemies of Fairness, Beware!” and “Fair Elections Start with Amupitan,” the protesters insisted that recent claims and rumours circulating on social media were part of a broader agenda to discredit the electoral system.

The protest featured a large procession of youths on motorcycles and on foot, drawing attention from residents as participants chanted solidarity songs and called for the protection of democratic institutions.

Speaking during the demonstration, a youth leader identified as Segun, vowed that the group would resist any attempt to “blackmail” or weaken the electoral body.

The protest was a fallout from the ongoing national debates over the appointment of new INEC National Commissioners, with some civil society organisations and opposition voices raising concerns about the alleged political affiliations of certain nominees.