Scores of youths poured into Aiyetoro Gbede streets on Monday, accusing powerful politicians of plotting to hound the Independent National Electoral Commission's Dr. Gabriel Amupitan out of office. Brandishing placards and chanting songs, members of youth and civil society groups said the campaign against the Resident Electoral Commissioner was designed to weaken INEC ahead of future polls. They warned that any attempt to remove Amupitan would be resisted, insisting he had brought transparency to the state's electoral process.

The procession snaked through major roads in Ijumu Local Government, disrupting traffic and drawing curious onlookers. Speakers took turns praising the REC for introducing reforms they claim curbed rigging in recent elections. No counter-protest was reported, and police presence remained minimal throughout the one-hour march.

The youths vowed to escalate action if intimidation continues, saying Kogi voters deserve an impartial umpire. They called on national INEC leadership to ignore what they termed "manufactured allegations" and allow Amupitan complete his tenure.

💡 NaijaBuzz Take

Dr. Gabriel Amupitan's real offence appears to be that he made votes in Kogi count for the first time in years, and entrenched interests want him gone before 2027.

Kogi has long been a laboratory for electoral chicanery; ballot-snatching, result-sheet swapping and sudden collation centre blackouts were almost normal. Since Amupitan arrived, collation is streamed live, result sheets are serialised and polling-unit uploads happen in real time. The people who perfected the old manual override suddenly find themselves unable to conjure the usual margins at 2 a.m., so they target the man who closed the door.

Ordinary Kogi voters—okada riders in Kabba, yam sellers in Egbe, students in Aiyetoro Gbede—now know their votes can cancel a godfather's. If Amupitan is forced out, the old playbook returns: pre-filled forms, hijacked BVAS machines and victory announcements before counting ends. The protest is therefore not about one civil servant; it is rural Nigerians defending the only institution that still lets them speak truth to power without a cutlass or a ballot-box-snatcher in sight.

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