By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove serving Directors-General and chief executives of federal agencies who have openly joined political mobilisation for his 2027 re-election campaign.

HURIWA, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on October 2, 2026, said the reported involvement of serving agency heads in a campaign structure for the President raised concerns about the separation between government administration and partisan politics.

The demand follows reports that the Forum of Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals has pledged to mobilise 10 million votes for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. The forum has also discussed a complementary campaign structure covering grassroots mobilisation, campaign messaging, election planning and monitoring alongside the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.

HURIWA said the development was particularly concerning because the officials involved occupy positions in public institutions established to serve Nigerians irrespective of political affiliation.

“It is unacceptable for officials appointed to manage government agencies to simultaneously position themselves as political campaigners for the President while remaining in charge of institutions established to serve all Nigerians,” the association said.

According to HURIWA, the reported pledge by the forum to mobilise 10 million votes makes the situation more troubling because serving agency chiefs are expected to devote their official responsibilities and institutional resources to their statutory mandates.

The forum, which reportedly has more than 400 chief executives and senior officials drawn from federal agencies and parastatals, has said its members intend to use their professional and grassroots networks to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.

HURIWA argued that such political involvement could create a conflict of interest, particularly where serving officials have access to public resources, government networks, institutional databases and official platforms.

“Federal government agencies belong to the Nigerian people and must serve citizens irrespective of their political affiliation, ethnicity, religion or ideological persuasion,” HURIWA said.

The rights group warned that allowing serving agency chiefs to participate openly in partisan campaign structures could undermine public confidence in the neutrality of government institutions and distract the agencies from their statutory responsibilities.

It therefore urged Tinubu to remove any serving agency chief who chooses active partisan campaigning while remaining in charge of a federal institution.

HURIWA also said officials who genuinely wished to participate actively in partisan politics should first relinquish their government appointments rather than combine political campaigning with the management of public institutions.

The association particularly objected to any attempt to turn federal agencies into extensions of the APC campaign machinery.

It noted that the reported complementary structure being promoted by the agency chiefs would cover grassroots mobilisation, media management, election planning and monitoring, areas it said were fundamentally political functions.

“Campaign mobilisation is a political function and should not become an additional responsibility of serving heads of federal agencies,” the association stated.

HURIWA further warned against the use of public funds, official vehicles, government facilities, personnel, institutional databases or other resources attached to public offices for the electoral interests of any political party or candidate.

The group called on the President to draw what it described as a clear line between government administration and partisan politics ahead of the 2027 elections.

“HURIWA therefore demands that the Presidency draw a clear line between government administration and partisan politics and ensure that every serving federal agency chief respects that distinction,” it said.

The association said Nigerians needed public institutions focused on governance, development and service delivery rather than agencies whose leadership becomes preoccupied with electoral campaigns.

It also called for professionals and technocrats to head federal institutions where current officeholders choose to leave their statutory responsibilities for active partisan political work.