By Teddy Nwanunobi
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against appointing academics who have publicly endorsed political candidates as returning and collation officers.
Their concern came on the backdrop of more than 600 senior academics from public universities in the Northern part of the country who had endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid during a meeting convened by Tinubu’s Presidential Adviser, Ibrahim Masari, in Kaduna State.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Monday, ADC said the appointment of lecturers who have openly taken partisan positions could undermine public confidence in the credibility and impartiality of the electoral process.
The party acknowledged that university lecturers, like other citizens, have the constitutional right to support candidates of their choice. However, it argued that academics who publicly endorse a candidate should not subsequently be entrusted with responsibilities involving the collation and declaration of results in an election contested by that candidate.
“You cannot campaign for a candidate and then be entrusted with counting the votes and declaring winners in the same election that your candidate is contesting in,” the ADC said.
The party noted that university lecturers and vice-chancellors are regularly considered by INEC for election duties, including the collation of results and declaration of winners.
It, therefore, urged the electoral commission to establish clear rules preventing academics and other prospective election officials who have publicly endorsed candidates, participated in partisan activities or demonstrated obvious political affiliations from serving in sensitive electoral positions.
The ADC further called on INEC to publish the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers sufficiently ahead of the elections.
According to the party, early publication would enable political parties and members of the public to scrutinise the nominees and raise concerns over potential conflicts of interest before election day.
The ADC said electoral credibility extended beyond the conduct of voting to the neutrality of officials responsible for administering, collating and declaring the results.
“Nigerians must never be placed in a position where those who have publicly chosen a side are subsequently presented as neutral arbiters of the contest,” ADC said.
Similarly, Atiku, in a statement issued by his the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to the ADC, Phrank Shaibu, in Monday, cautioned INEC against trusting lecturers who declared allegiance to politicians with sensitive electoral responsibilities.
Shaibu said any academic who openly endorses a presidential candidate should not be given INEC assignments such as returning officer, collation officers or officials entrusted with the collation, declaration and announcement of election results.
”Academics who openly declare partisan allegiance should not subsequently be entrusted with sensitive electoral responsibilities by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
”Lecturers have every constitutional right to support, campaign for, and vote for any candidate of their choice. That right is not in dispute. What is unacceptable, however, is for persons who have publicly taken partisan positions to later present themselves as neutral electoral officials.
”Any academic who openly endorses a presidential candidate should not come anywhere near sensitive INEC assignments as returning officers, collation officers or officials entrusted with the collation, declaration and announcement of election results. Electoral credibility requires not only actual neutrality, but also public confidence in the neutrality of those administering the process.
”More disturbing is the reported presence of elected governors and a serving Minister of Defence at the endorsement. That senior officials of the ruling party would lend the weight of their offices to such an overtly partisan gathering of academics is deeply troubling and speaks to the desperation surrounding the Tinubu administration’s quest for re-election.
”It is a shame that the Tinubu administration appears determined to strip our scholars of the dignity of their academic gowns and dress them instead in the garb of partisan political rascality. Universities should remain centres of independent thought, scholarship and intellectual freedom, not recruitment grounds for the political machinery of a desperate ruling party.
”What we are witnessing tells the story of a government increasingly prepared to push against every moral boundary in its determination to secure another term in office, regardless of the damage done to institutions that ought to command public trust.
”This principle must apply equally to academics who openly support Atiku Abubakar or any other presidential candidate. No one should be allowed to play today and referee tomorrow.
”You cannot wear a party jersey today and expect Nigerians to accept you as an impartial referee on election day.
”INEC must take note and ensure that academics who have publicly declared partisan allegiance are excluded from sensitive electoral responsibilities in the 2027 elections,” he warned.