Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, will deliver the keynote address at the 10th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), holding October 8, 2026, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
The conference, themed “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities,” comes as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections and attention turns to the credibility of the electoral process and the responsibilities of the different stakeholders involved.
Announcing the keynote in a statement issued Monday, Chairman of the 2026 conference planning committee and GOCOP Deputy President, Mr Olumide Iyanda, said Amupitan’s position made him a fitting choice to address the gathering.
“The 2027 elections will be about more than what INEC does on Election Day. The credibility of the process will depend on the conduct of institutions, political parties and candidates, the media, civil society and the electorate. That is why we deliberately chose a theme that speaks to trust, transparency and shared responsibilities,” Iyanda said.
“The INEC chairman occupies a unique position in that conversation. Professor Amupitan has the responsibility of leading the institution that will manage the elections, but he also comes to that responsibility with a strong background in law, governance and institutional administration. We expect his keynote address to provide important insight into the preparations for 2027, the challenges ahead and what other stakeholders must do to support a credible process.”
Amupitan, a Professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was appointed INEC Chairman in October 2025. His scholarship spans the law of evidence, corporate governance, company law, privatisation law and electoral jurisprudence. Before joining INEC, he held several academic and administrative positions at the University of Jos, including Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) and Dean of the Faculty of Law.
His appearance follows a precedent set ahead of the last general elections: in 2022, then-INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu delivered a GOCOP keynote titled “2023 Elections: Managing the Process for Credible Outcome.”
The 2026 conference will be chaired by Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association with decades of involvement in Nigeria’s democracy and governance debates, particularly constitutional reform, human rights and electoral reform.
Iyanda said Agbakoba’s experience made him well suited to preside over a conference examining trust, institutions and shared responsibility in the democratic process.
Beyond the keynote, discussions will examine the responsibilities of electoral institutions, political parties and candidates, the media, civil society and voters in ensuring a credible 2027 process, along with public confidence in elections and access to credible information.
The event marks the 10th edition of the GOCOP annual conference. GOCOP is a business membership organisation of 127 online publications in Nigeria, working to promote professional standards, ethics and sustainability in the country’s digital media industry.