2027: Who will count Tinubu’s votes?

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President Tinubu

… as pressure mounts on INEC over partisan academics

By Luminous Jannamike, ABUJA

The bigger question may not be who Nigerians vote for, but who handles those votes after the ballots are cast. Between voting and the final declaration is a chain of officials whose neutrality can determine whether the result is accepted.

The issue came into focus after reports that more than 600 senior academics from public universities in Northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in 2027. Some political figures believe the lecturers have every right to support a candidate. The concern, however, is that academics are often recruited by INEC for sensitive election duties.

The Question Behind the Endorsement

The African Democratic Congress has focused on that overlap. Its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said publicly backing a candidate and later handling that candidate’s election results raises an obvious conflict-of-interest concern.

“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 ADC said.

The party is not saying academics should give up their political rights. It accepts that they can support candidates, but argues that public political activity should matter when they are being considered for roles that require neutrality.

That is a fair point to examine. A university professor does not stop being a citizen because INEC needs election officials. At the same time, political participation should not automatically be dismissed as irrelevant when the person may later collate results involving a candidate he or she openly supported.

The challenge is to protect both rights: the right to participate in politics and the public’s right to trust those managing the election.

Where the Referee Analogy Fits

Mark Adebayo, Chief Communications Adviser to the Adewole Adebayo-Bugaje Presidential Campaign Council, takes a stricter view. He said academics who openly take partisan positions should not be involved in INEC assignments.

“Any academic that openly expresses partisan political support or opinion automatically unqualified to participate in any form of assignments for INEC,” Adebayo told Saturday Vanguard.

He likened such an appointment to allowing a match official to take part in the game he is meant to supervise.

“For such a person to be involved in election assignments is akin to allowing a referee or linesman to play in a match he is officiating. We will oppose any such development seriously,” Adebayo said.

“It is absolutely unacceptable,” he added.

But an academic who later serves as an election official remains a citizen with political rights. Does supporting a candidate automatically mean that person cannot perform an official duty fairly?

That is where a blanket ban becomes difficult. If every academic who has ever expressed a political preference is excluded, INEC could lose a large part of its potential workforce.

There is also a difference between holding a private political view, publicly endorsing a candidate, working on a campaign and holding a political appointment.

The real question is what kind of conduct should disqualify someone. Should it be any political opinion, a recent public endorsement, campaign work, membership of a party structure or a formal political appointment? Or should INEC assess each case on its facts instead of adopting a rule that could sweep up ordinary civic participation?

Neutrality is also about confidence, says CHRICED

Meanwhile, the Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has taken the argument further. Its Executive Director, Comrade Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the concern was about ‘clear, recent partisan political involvement’ among academics who could be appointed as Returning and Collation Officers.

“Academic status is not a guarantee of electoral neutrality,” CHRICED said.

That point matters because voters cannot see everything that happens after they leave the polling unit. They cannot personally follow every result from the polling station to the collation centre and then to the final declaration. Their confidence depends partly on whether the officials involved appear trustworthy.

Zikirullahi drew a distinction between actual misconduct and the suspicion created by a compromised appearance.

“The danger is not only actual wrongdoing, it is the appearance of compromised neutrality,” Zikirullahi said.

CHRICED argued that a recent partisan role could cast doubt on the result, even if the official performs the job honestly.

That does not mean the academics who endorsed Tinubu would manipulate votes. Neither does the available information show that INEC plans to appoint them to sensitive positions in 2027. Those facts are not yet established.

What INEC Can Clarify Now

INEC can deal with the issue before it becomes a bigger problem. The ADC wants the commission to publish clear rules on when a prospective election official should be disqualified for publicly endorsing a candidate, taking part in partisan activities or showing an obvious political affiliation.

It also wants the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers released early enough for political parties and citizens to raise objections.

CHRICED has made similar demands. It called for clear selection criteria, the exclusion of officials whose recent partisan activities create a reasonable appearance of conflict, consistent standards across the country and disclosure of recent endorsements, campaign roles, political appointments and other significant partisan engagements.

Greater transparency would not prevent academics from taking part in politics. It would give INEC a clearer way to identify possible conflicts and explain its decisions. It would also allow objections to be considered under known rules rather than through political accusations.

The argument over 2027 is really about the short but important distance between a vote being cast and a result being trusted. Nigerians cannot be expected to accept the final declaration if they have no confidence in the people handling the stages they cannot personally observe.

As Zikirullahi said, “The 2027 election must not only produce a result, it must produce a result Nigerians can trust.”

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