The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review the use of “partisan lecturers” as Returning and Collation Officers in the 2027 elections.

ADC said this in reaction to the report that more than 600 senior lecturers from public universities in the North endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election.

ADC said while the development raises a fundamental question of electoral credibility and conflict of interest, because university lecturers and vice chancellors have routinely been entrusted with the sensitive responsibility of collating election results, it was imperative for INEC to review its policies in that direction.

The statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the party, said while acknowledging the constitutional right of every Nigerian, including academics, to support or endorse any political candidate, “no person who has openly taken a partisan position should subsequently be entrusted with determining the outcome of an election involving that candidate.”

ADC said, “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 party, therefore, called on INEC to “establish and publish clear criteria, disqualifying academics and other prospective election officials who have publicly endorsed candidates, participated in partisan political activities, or otherwise demonstrated an obvious political affiliation.”

It also urged INEC to “publish the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers sufficiently ahead of the elections to allow political parties and the public to identify and raise legitimate conflict-of-interest concerns.

“The integrity of an election does not begin when the first ballot is cast. It begins with the neutrality of the people entrusted to administer, collate, and declare its outcome. 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.” (Daily Trust)