2027 Elections: CSOs Ask INEC to Bar Partisan Academics From Sensitive Roles
Civil society organisations have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen safeguards around the appointment of returning and collation officers ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that academics with recent partisan political involvement could create conflicts of interest.
The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) raised the concern amid reports that hundreds of senior academics from public universities in northern Nigeria recently participated in a political mobilisation meeting connected with President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.
CHRICED Executive Director Ibrahim Zikirullah said the organisation was not questioning the constitutional right of academics to participate in politics, but argued that openly partisan individuals should not subsequently be entrusted with sensitive responsibilities involving the collation or declaration of election results.
The group maintained that electoral credibility depends not only on preventing actual manipulation but also on ensuring that officials handling results are perceived by voters and political parties as independent and impartial.
According to CHRICED, a potential conflict could arise where a professor or senior academic publicly endorses a presidential candidate and is later appointed by INEC to collate or declare results involving the same candidate.
The organisation therefore urged INEC to establish clear safeguards that would prevent individuals with identifiable recent partisan involvement from performing sensitive electoral duties in 2027.
The concern followed a media report alleging that more than 600 senior academics from public universities in the North attended a closed-door meeting in Kaduna convened by APC chieftain and Presidential Special Adviser on Political Matters Ibrahim Masari.
The reported meeting was said to have been aimed at mobilising support among academics for President Tinubu’s re-election bid. The allegation about the meeting and its purpose has been cited by CHRICED as the basis for its concerns and should not, without independent verification, be treated as proof that the academics involved would be appointed as INEC officials.
The controversy comes amid wider debate over the role university academics traditionally play in Nigeria’s election management system.
CHRICED argued that academic status alone should not be regarded as sufficient evidence of political neutrality, pointing to previous cases in which university professors serving in election roles were prosecuted and convicted over electoral offences.
Among the cases referenced by the organisation was that of Professor Peter Ogban, who was convicted over manipulation of election results while serving as a returning officer. It also cited the conviction of Professor Ignatius Uduk in connection with election-related offences.
The civil society organisation said such cases demonstrate the importance of screening individuals selected for sensitive election responsibilities irrespective of their professional or academic standing.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has raised a separate concern over the growing involvement of traditional, religious and academic institutions in partisan activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
HURIWA National Coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko said traditional rulers, academics, religious leaders and other citizens have the right to support candidates of their choice.
The organisation, however, argued that repeatedly using institutions that traditionally command broad public influence as platforms for partisan endorsements could affect perceptions of their neutrality.
The group referred to recent consultations between President Tinubu’s campaign organisation and prominent traditional rulers, including reported endorsements from some monarchs.
Recent developments have already highlighted contrasting approaches among traditional rulers. During consultations involving the APC Presidential Campaign Council, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, urged Nigerians to carefully examine politicians’ campaign promises and make their own electoral choices, while the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, publicly backed Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Concerns about academics participating in partisan politics have also been raised by political opponents of the President. Peter Obi’s media office recently questioned whether academics who publicly support the incumbent should subsequently be allowed to perform sensitive electoral responsibilities.
INEC, for its part, has reiterated its commitment to conducting transparent, credible, inclusive and peaceful general elections in 2027.
As preparations gather momentum, the emerging debate places the spotlight on the criteria INEC will use in recruiting returning and collation officers and how the commission will address potential conflicts of interest.
For civil society organisations, the central issue is not whether academics, monarchs or other influential Nigerians should participate in politics, but whether electoral institutions can maintain public confidence by clearly separating partisan activity from responsibilities requiring political neutrality.
