ADC Urges INEC to Regulate Lecturers as Election Officers

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen its regulations concerning the appointment of lecturers as Returning and Collation Officers for the upcoming 2027 general elections. This request follows reports that more than 600 senior lecturers from public universities in Northern Nigeria have endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC's National Publicity Secretary, expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest, emphasizing that individuals who publicly support a candidate should not be involved in determining the election's outcome. The ADC stated that it is inappropriate for someone who has campaigned for a candidate to then count votes or declare results in the same election.

The party urged INEC to establish clear guidelines to prevent academics with partisan affiliations from serving in these roles and to publish the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers in advance to allow for public scrutiny.