Be loyal to Nigerians, ADC advises new INEC Chairman, Amupitan

African Democratic Congress (ADC) has advised the newly-appointed Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), to be loyal to Nigerians and restore their confidence in the electoral system.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, gave the advice in a statement in Abuja.

Abdullahi said that the party expected him to have a personal ambition to do better and restore the confidence of Nigerians and the world in Nigeria’s election.

“He must understand that his loyalty is with the Nigerian people, not the government.

“We are willing to give him the benefit of doubt, based on his track record. But now he has the opportunity to make a good name for himself that his children would be proud of or to soil his record and end up with ignominy,” he said.

In another development, Abdullahi, while reacting to the new World Bank report, urged the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to focus on economic policies to that put the people first.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Bank October 2025 report indicated that 139 million Nigerians are living below the poverty line, from 81 million in 2019.

Abdullahi decried what he called high food inflation, saying that about 70 per cent of citizens spent their income on food left, with nothing for essential needs.

He advised against using Nigeria’s domestic poverty threshold, roughly N137,000 per month or about 90 dollars, saying it was far below the global real-value benchmark.

The spokesman said that by using such a local measure, citizens who were globally poor would appear statistically fine in Nigeria.

“In reality, however, they would have become invisible to a policy that mistakes low expectations for progress.

“A poverty line that is set too low does not protect the poor; it hides them,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria needs now is an inclusive growth that comes with a conscientious strategy.

He said that with people-centred economic policies and programmes that prioritised food security, job creation and targetted social protection systems, the 139 million vulnerable Nigerians would be shielded.