The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to bar university lecturers with known partisan leanings from being appointed as returning and collation officers for the 2027 general elections.
The party’s position, delivered in a statement on Monday by its national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, follows recent reports that over 600 senior lecturers from public universities in northern Nigeria have openly endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The ADC said the development raises doubts about the impartiality of university staff who typically serve as election officials.
According to the ADC, appointing academics who have publicly taken political positions could threaten the credibility of the electoral process and create conflicts of interest, since lecturers and vice-chancellors often play key roles in collating results and announcing winners.
The ADC acknowledged that academics, like every other Nigerian, have the constitutional right to support or endorse political candidates.
The party maintained that individuals who have declared support for any candidate should not participate in collating or announcing results in elections where their preferred candidate is contesting.
“It would be inappropriate for someone who has campaigned for a candidate to be responsible for counting votes and declaring results in that same election,” the statement read.
ADC called on INEC to establish and publish transparent guidelines that would disqualify academics and other prospective election officials who have publicly endorsed candidates, participated in political campaigns, or shown clear partisan affiliations.
The party further recommended that INEC publish the list of proposed returning and collation officers well before the elections to ensure transparency.
Early publication, the ADC said, would give political parties and the public an opportunity to scrutinize the list and flag any potential conflicts of interest.
“The integrity of any election begins with the neutrality of those overseeing the process, long before the first ballot is cast,” the statement added.
“Nigerians deserve election officials whose impartiality is beyond question,” the party stated.
