The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that academics with recent and clearly documented partisan political involvement are not appointed as Returning or Collation Officers for the 2027 general elections.
CHRICED, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Executive Director, Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, said the call followed reports that more than 600 senior academics from public universities across Northern Nigeria recently endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for a second term.
According to the organization, the academics participated in a closed-door meeting in Kaduna convened by Ibrahim Masari, the Presidential Special Adviser on Political Matters.
Trust Radio reported that the meeting culminated in an endorsement of President Tinubu’s 2027 ambition.
CHRICED said academics, like other citizens, have the constitutional right to participate in politics and support candidates of their choice.
However, it argued that such political participation could create a conflict-of-interest concern if individuals who have recently taken public partisan positions are subsequently appointed to collate or declare election results involving the candidates they supported.
The organization said the issue was not an allegation that academics were inherently incapable of acting impartially, but rather the need to protect public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s own guidelines state that Returning Officers are responsible for collating and declaring election results, while Collation Officers perform similar duties at various electoral levels.
CHRICED also noted that the Electoral Act requires election officials, including Returning Officers, to affirm an oath of loyalty and neutrality and perform their duties impartially and without fear or favour.
The group cited previous cases involving university professors who served as election officials and were later convicted of electoral offences, including Professor Peter Ogban and Professor Ignatius Uduk.
It said such cases demonstrated that academic credentials alone could not substitute for effective safeguards, transparent selection procedures and conflict-of-interest rules.
CHRICED further expressed concern about what it described as the increasing intersection between partisan politics and the academic environment through political appointments, advisory roles and other forms of engagement.
It warned that the credibility of the 2027 elections could be affected if individuals perceived as politically aligned with a candidate were later entrusted with sensitive result-management responsibilities.
“Even if the officer acts with complete honesty, the credibility of the results may still be questioned,” the organisation said, stressing that the appearance of compromised neutrality could itself undermine confidence in the electoral process.
CHRICED’s Demands
The organization called on INEC to:
- Clarify the criteria for selecting Returning and Collation Officers for the 2027 elections.
- Exclude politically exposed academics from sensitive result-management roles where recent partisan activities create a reasonable appearance of conflict of interest.
- Apply uniform selection standards to prospective electoral officers across all regions of Nigeria.
- Introduce transparent conflict-of-interest guidelines requiring prospective electoral officers to disclose recent political endorsements, campaign roles, political appointments and other significant partisan engagements.
- Allow civil society organizations, the media and other stakeholders to monitor the recruitment and deployment of Returning and Collation Officers.
- Hold political actors accountable for attempts to mobilise individuals who may subsequently occupy sensitive electoral positions.
- Encourage international election observers, including the United Nations, European Union, Commonwealth, African Union and ECOWAS, to closely monitor the electoral process.
CHRICED said it would continue working with election observers and civic stakeholders to promote an electoral integrity framework that applies equally across universities, regions and political affiliations.
The organization stressed that its position was not aimed at denying academics their democratic rights.
Rather, it said the right to support a political candidate and the responsibility to serve as a neutral electoral officer were separate obligations that should not be conflated.
“The 2027 election must not only produce a result—it must produce a result Nigerians can trust,” CHRICED said.
It urged INEC to address potential conflicts of interest early and strengthen safeguards to protect the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral system.
