The team of Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan was spotted at Chatham House in London wearing a cap linked to the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The photo spread fast on social media and sparked claims that the electoral body favours the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
The development has raised concerns among Nigerians, particularly over the importance of political neutrality by electoral officials ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC is responsible for organising and supervising elections, registering voters, regulating political party activities and ensuring that the electoral process is conducted fairly.
As a result, any suggestion that officials of the commission are displaying symbols associated with a particular political party is likely to attract public attention and demands for clarification.
Critics may see the alleged incident as raising questions about the commission’s impartiality, while the circumstances surrounding the cap, including who wore it and whether it was officially connected to the delegation, remain to be established.
Amupitan led the team to the British think tank on November 12 for a high level dialogue organised with the Kimpact Development Initiative. The session carried the theme Nigeria 2027 Elections Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot. Amupitan took office in October 2025. He had been accused of supporting President Bola Tinubu and the APC in 2023 through a tweet that was shared online. He has denied owning or running the account linked to that post.
Outside the building Nigerian diaspora protesters surrounded the black vehicle carrying Amupitan as he left. They waved placards demanded he come out and called for his resignation. They pointed to problems in the preliminary voters register such as duplicate entries suspected artificial intelligence photos and questionable polling units. Some accused the INEC team of working for the APC and Tinubu.
Amupitan remained inside the car and gave no response to the crowd. During the indoor session he denied bias. He said he does not own or run any social media account that supported Tinubu or the APC in the 2023 election. He stated his loyalty is to the constitution and electoral laws. He announced a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise on November 28 to test systems. He also said inaccurate results will not appear on the public result viewing portal in future polls.
On November 9 Amupitan disclosed that INEC removed 1608660 invalid registrations plus 873 deceased persons records from the 2025 and 2026 continuous voter registration exercises after review. The commission has admitted some irregularities and opened investigations. It has repeatedly denied favouring any party.
