The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED), has raised the alarm over emerging indications that vice chancellors, professors and senior university lecturers with clear, recent partisan political involvement may be deployed as returning and collation officers in the 2027 general elections.

This came as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) decried the growing use of traditional and religious institutions for partisan political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

CHRICED, in a statement signed by the Executive Director of CHRICED, Ibrahim Zikirullah, noted that “the integrity of an election is protected not only by preventing manipulation, but also by ensuring that those entrusted with the votes are demonstrably independent and visibly impartial”.

It stated: “CHRICED is not asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deny academics their democratic rights; we are insisting that the right to support a political candidate and the responsibility to serve as a neutral electoral officer are two distinct obligations that must never be conflated.

“The 2027 election must not only produce a result; it must produce a result Nigerians can trust. INEC must act now to eliminate avoidable conflicts of interest and safeguard the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral system.”

The centre’s concern is triggered by a recent media report alleging that more than 600 senior academics from public universities in the North attended a closed-door meeting in Kaduna convened by the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and Presidential Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari.

According to the report, the meeting was explicitly aimed at “securing the endorsement and active support” of academics for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, and was described as a mobilisation exercise, not an open forum for debate.

“CHRICED affirms that academics, like all citizens, have the right to political participation. However, when individuals who have recently taken public partisan positions are subsequently entrusted with the sensitive responsibility of collating or declaring election results, a clear conflict of interest arises. This is not merely a procedural concern; it is a threat to public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral integrity.”

Nigeria’s electoral history has repeatedly shown that academic credentials do not automatically confer political neutrality, as Prof. Peter Ogban, an INEC Returning Officer, was convicted for manipulating and falsifying election results, while Prof. Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo was similarly convicted for offences relating to false election results and perjury.

It added: “The alleged mobilisation of academics becomes even more troubling if individuals involved in partisan endorsement activities are later selected as returning or collation officers.

If a professor publicly endorses a presidential candidate and is subsequently assigned to collate or declare results involving that candidate, the question becomes unavoidable: Can such an officer be reasonably perceived as neutral?”

HURIWA said the reported visits by the Presidential Campaign Council of President Bola Tinubu to influential traditional rulers, alongside public endorsements of his administration, should concern Nigerians who want credible and competitive elections.

In a statement signed yesterday by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said the development had gone beyond routine political courtesy.

The association also pointed to reported endorsements from academic circles, including student leaders representing tertiary institutions across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

It specifically cited the reported endorsement of Tinubu by Lagos and Benin monarchs, criticising the former for saying there would be “no vacancy” in Aso Rock in 2027.

However, the rights group acknowledged that traditional rulers, religious leaders, academics, students and other citizens have the right to support political candidates. It said the concern was the use of institutions with significant public influence as platforms for partisan campaigns.

“When traditional, religious or academic institutions are repeatedly deployed as platforms for partisan endorsements, their neutrality, credibility and moral authority are placed at serious risk,” HURIWA said.

While appealing to religious and academic institutions to preserve their independence and protect public confidence in their roles, HURIWA urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and resist attempts to substitute the preferences of powerful individuals or institutions for the constitutional right of citizens to freely choose their leaders. (The Guardian)