Genocide Comments: PFN Slams Calls To Sack INEC Chairman

According to Ireporter Online, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has firmly rejected calls by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria demanding the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, over comments allegedly linked to genocide.

The Fellowship described the demand as unwarranted and a potential threat to constitutional liberties, insisting that Prof. Amupitan, like every Nigerian citizen, is entitled to express opinions on matters of national interest regardless of the public office he occupies.

In a statement issued by its National Secretary, Bishop David Bakare, the PFN maintained that the remarks attributed to the INEC Chairman were made in a personal capacity and bore no connection to his official duties or responsibilities as head of the electoral body.

The Fellowship emphasised that the issue had no link to elections or electoral processes, arguing that there was no justification for associating the alleged comments with Prof. Amupitan’s role at INEC.

The PFN strongly condemned suggestions that the INEC Chairman should be removed from office over personal views, warning against what it described as a dangerous precedent of punishing public officials for opinions expressed outside the scope of their official assignments.

The organisation further cautioned against the increasing tendency to frame national issues along religious lines, noting that such interpretations only fuel division and threaten peaceful coexistence in the country.

The Fellowship stressed that profiling or judging individuals based on religious affiliation or personal beliefs undermines national unity, adding that Prof. Amupitan’s right to free expression should not be jeopardised by his position in public service.

It called on stakeholders to exercise restraint, tolerance and mutual respect in national conversations, especially on sensitive matters, while reiterating that unity and peace must remain central in addressing the nation’s challenges.

The PFN reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, justice and mutual respect, urging that these principles continue to guide public discourse and responses to national issues.