INEC and neutrality test

By Musa Luka Musa, Baba Martins & Seun Adeuyi

F****resh controversies have resurfaced over the redeployment of key personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In the recent changes at INEC, Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi, formerly the Administrative Secretary of the commission’s Lagos State office, was redeployed as the Director of Electoral Operations at the commission. She is the wife of Segun Showunmi, a spokesman for the Tinubu/Shettima 2027 Presidential Campaign Council.

Prof. Mustapha Aliu, identified as an elder brother of Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, who is seeking a second term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has also been nominated as an INEC commissioner.

According to reports, Isah Magaji Gummi, who previously headed the Electoral Operations Department, was redeployed to the Voter Registry Department.

The Electoral Operations Department plays a key role in election planning and implementation, including the coordination of polling arrangements, deployment of election materials and management of personnel involved in electoral operations.

Although the director of the department does not independently determine election results, the responsibilities attached to the office have drawn attention to the redeployment and calls for INEC to explain the considerations behind the decision.

Adeyemi-Showunmi’s redeployment has sparked debate among civil society organisations and on social media over transparency, political neutrality and public confidence in the electoral body.

Former director of voter education at INEC, Mr Nick Dazang, when contacted said, it would be wrong for the Commission to pretend that appointing someone that close to a sitting governor who is contesting elections has no implications.

“The person may be eminently qualified but I have profound misgivings if he can discharge or execute his office as Resident Electoral Commissioner with the professionalism, neutrality and impartiality that the office demands.

On the redeployment of Sowunmi wife, he said in the time past, and oblivious of the closeness/proximity of INEC officials to certain politically exposed persons, INEC officials on their merit, had been inadvertently assigned to roles/tasks that put them in difficult positions which complicated the Commission’s core values of impartiality and neutrality.

He said In such circumstances, and in deference to its core values, INEC has demonstrated sensitivity by not posting such deserving officials to these positions.

“It is likely that the Commission may not be aware or cognizant of the said officer’s relationship with a prominent politician. “But once this is established, and its attention is called to this reality, it should promptly do the needful, namely: not to put the officer in a position that compromises the Commission’s principles of neutrality and provision of a level playing field to all contestants. In the prevailing circumstance, the officer should be directed to recuse herself. This will allay fears, rightly or wrongly, that she has been procured to deliberately confer an advantage to any candidate(s) in the election. Either the tenure of the subsisting Director is specially extended for the period of the election, or his Deputy is directed to act in the position of Director, subject to consideration(s) of merit, federal character and the core values aforementioned,” he added.

Director-General of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, warned that the electoral body must ensure public confidence in the electoral process and should not take the people for granted in its appointment.

On the appointment of Adeyemi-Showunmi as INEC Director of Electoral Operations, Itodo said elections are fundamentally about operations, adding that by this token, it is one of the most sensitive and consequential departments within INEC.

He said, “In fact, the Electoral Operations Department is at the heart of election administration. From the recruitment and deployment of polling officials to the planning, production and distribution of election materials, as well as the operational arrangements for voting and results collation, the department plays a central role in determining how elections are conducted.

“Mrs. Showunmi’s competence and professional capacity are not in doubt. However, competence alone is not sufficient for appointments to sensitive positions in election management. The independence, impartiality and perceived neutrality of those entrusted with managing elections are equally important.

“Appointing individuals with strong ties to politicians in such strategic positions inevitably raises legitimate questions about impartiality and INEC independence. These concerns become even more pronounced in a climate of deep public distrust, growing fears of political capture of INEC, and politicians boldly declaring the number of votes they expect to secure before a single ballot has been cast.

“At a time when public confidence in the electoral process is already fragile, appointments to critical positions within INEC should inspire confidence, not deepen suspicion. INEC must recognize that its credibility rests not only on the technical competence of its personnel but also on public confidence in INEC’s independence from partisan interests. Public confidence in the electoral process must never be taken for granted. In this instance, it is being taken for granted,” he said.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was among those who first raised the alarm over the issue, demanding immediate and full transparency from INEC.

In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the reported changes in the Electoral Operations Department raised serious questions that INEC must answer without delay.

“Reports indicate that Director Isa Magaji Gummi was moved from Electoral Operations to the Voter Registry Department, while Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi was appointed to head Electoral Operations. Dr Lawrence Bayode has also been identified as the head of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

“These departments are at the heart of election administration. INEC must explain these decisions, publish the criteria applied and show that every appointment and redeployment followed due process, was based on merit and was free from political interference. Nigerians will not accept vague assurances on matters this serious.”

Atiku said no official should be presumed compromised because of their ethnicity, background or associations. But when reported political connections or a concentration of appointments raises public concern, INEC must provide verifiable assurances that its impartiality is protected.

“A government that has driven millions of Nigerians into hardship must not be allowed to turn the electoral umpire into an instrument of political survival. When sensitive election departments are reshaped and major contracts are surrounded by unanswered questions, the suspicion that a failing administration is seeking every possible advantage to cling to power will only grow. INEC must dispel that suspicion through full, immediate and verifiable disclosure,” he said.

A political analyst, Professor Saleh Dauda, maintained that political undertones cannot be ruled out in the redeployment of Adeyemi-Showunmi ahead of the general elections.

Dauda, however, said the move could also be a routine civil service transfer, noting that there was no conclusive evidence to establish that it was politically motivated.

Speaking on the development, Prof Dauda said the circumstances had raised questions about the possibility of political influence in key institutions.

“In the Nigerian political scene, anything can happen. You cannot rule out the possibility of political undertones in her redeployment to the INEC headquarters. And from another angle, you can also see it as a mere coincidence of civil service routine transfer,” he said.

The political analyst also cited concerns about the independence of public institutions, including INEC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the judiciary, describing the argument as part of a broader debate about whether Nigeria operates as a “captured state.”

He, however, urged Nigerians to focus on demanding credible elections rather than drawing conclusions about the redeployment without sufficient evidence.

“The only thing that I would rather ask Nigerians to insist on is the issue of free and fair elections. After all, elections are not done at the headquarters,” he said.

He argued that elections were conducted at state, local government and ward levels before results were transmitted to the national headquarters, stressing that the credibility of the process at those levels was essential.

“If we have credible elections at this level, there’s no way the election can be different at the national INEC headquarters,” he added.

‘Allegations on redeployment speculative’

A senior INEC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly on the matter, faulted some of the claims surrounding the appointments, saying the allegations of ethnic and other considerations were largely speculative.

The official said the Director of Planning and Monitoring is not Yoruba, while the Director of Human Resources, whose department handles appointments, promotions and discipline, hails from the North-Central.

He added that the Director of Voter Education and Publicity is from the South-South, not the South-East, as some accounts suggested.

According to him, almost all the seven directors listed as being from the South-West were appointed under the former INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, rather than the current leadership.

The official maintained that the appointments were based on a combination of merit and seniority, although he acknowledged that the latest reshuffle could still raise questions.

He, however, described the evidence being relied upon to suggest wrongdoing as largely speculative.

On the redeployment of Magaji from the Operations Department to Voter Registration, the official said he was already on his three-month pre-retirement leave.

He explained that Magaji remained at work following a federal government circular issued in May, which clarified that staff were not required to stay away from work during the three-month notice period before retirement.

Daily Trust recalls that the Presidency announced Aliyu’s nomination on October 16, 2026, alongside three other national commissioners and two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

Nominated INEC national commissioners

In September, four national commissioner positions were declared vacant at INEC. An official of the commission, who spoke exclusively to Daily Trust then, said three national commissioners had already completed their five-year tenure and left the commission on September 14, while another is expected to leave in October.

The affected names, according to the source, were Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru from the North-West, who was the Chairman, Operations and Logistics Committee; Professor Sani Adam from the North-Central, who was the Chairman, Legal Services, Clearance and Compliance Committee; Dr. Baba Bila, from the North-East, who was the Chairman, Finance and General Purpose Committee and Professor Cornelius Ajayi from the South-West, as Chairman, Outreach and Partnership Committee, who is expected to leave this month.

Last Friday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu nominated four national commissioners and two resident electoral commissioners (RECs) to fill vacancies at INEC. The nominations, announced by the Presidency, are subject to confirmation by the Senate.

According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the president also reappointed Dr Bila as the national commissioner representing the North-East.

Prof Aliu, a brother of Sokoto State governor, was nominated to replace Prof Zuru as the North-West representative, while Bashir Muhammed Umar was nominated to replace Professor Muhammad Adamu as the North-Central representative.

Tinubu also nominated Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the resident electoral commissioner in Osun State, as the national commissioner representing the South-West. She is expected to replace Prof Ajayi, whose tenure expires on October 24.

For the resident electoral commissioner positions, the president nominated retired permanent secretary, Dr Samuel Akinjide Akinleye, to represent Ekiti State, and Zahradden Basiru Sanusi, from Jigawa State, to replace Professor Saidu Ahmed Babura.

The president urged the Senate to expedite the confirmation process, citing the forthcoming general elections scheduled for January next year.

The Senate is expected to scrutinise the nominees before their appointments are finalised.

Sokoto govt defends gov’s brother

Meanwhile, the Sokoto State government has defended the nomination of the state governor’s elder brother to replace Prof Zuru, saying there is no evidence that the relationship with the government could undermine the nominee’s impartiality. It also argued that the nominee’s family relationship with Governor Aliyu was not sufficient grounds for disqualification.

Special Adviser to the governor on Political Matters, Faruku Labbo, stated this in a statement on Monday while reacting to the calls by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Sokoto, Manir Muhammad Dan’iya, on President Tinubu to reconsider the nomination and the Senate to subject the nominee to rigorous scrutiny before confirmation.

Labbo maintained that Prof Aliyu was qualified for the national assignment and did not hold any position in the APC at any level.

He challenged the ADC candidate to prove otherwise, stressing that family ties alone did not constitute constitutional disqualification.

Daily Trust recalls that in 2025, when Amina Zakari was appointed as Acting INEC chairman, though many agreed she was competent, the appointment was widely rejected.

It was said to break the tradition that when an incumbent president or head of government is from the southern side of the River Niger, the head of the electoral umpire should be from the northern side of that river and vice versa.