The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Joash Amupitan, has approved the appointment of a former Editor of The Punch, Adedayo Oketola, as his Chief Press Secretary.
The appointment follows the exit of former Education Desk Editor of The Guardian, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who previously served as CPS to the immediate past INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
According to the commission’s Editor-in-Chief and Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, the appointment was formally conveyed in a letter signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, dated Friday, October 24, 2025.
Oketola was described as a “multi-award-winning journalist with nearly two decades of experience,” recognised for his “inclusive reporting and journalistic excellence.”
Oketola previously served as News Editor and Business Editor of The Punch and was Assistant Editor of News and Politics for Saturday Punch.
During his tenure as Editor of The Punch, he was named Editor of the Year at the 2023 Nigeria Media Merit Awards, where the newspaper also won the Newspaper of the Year award.
He was similarly honoured as Editor of the Year at The Industry Awards in 2023 and is a two-time recipient of the Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards held in Johannesburg (2015) and Nairobi (2016).
Oriaran-Anthony, in her congratulatory message, urged Oketola to discharge his duties with professionalism and uphold the values of transparency and integrity that define the commission.
