National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), has charged the commission’s staff on professionalism, urging them to refrain from showing interest in any political party to ensure transparent elections in 2027.

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Segun Showunmi, has defended his wife’s redeployment to head INEC’s Electoral Operations Department.

Amupitan, in an interactive session with INEC staff from the South-East yesterday after arriving Enugu, stated that staff of the commission must show neutrality and professionalism in the discharge of their electoral duties.

He urged the staff to steer clear of partisan politics, adding: “You should not pick interest in any political party: be neutral and firm. I am hearing that some of you are showing interest in some political parties. This is absolutely wrong.

“The commission will not take unprofessional or unethical electoral conduct from any staff. We have instituted a reward and sanction mechanism even from local councils, states and to even national level,” he said.

The chairman said the commission was working relentlessly to improve the welfare of its staff across as all cadre and levels.

According to him, the commission has worked hard to remove its staff from the normal civil service salary structure to a special salary structure, adding: “This new special salary structure will take effect from January 1, 2027, and it is for the benefit of staff across all cadres and levels. We want the new salary structure so that you will not easily be induced before, during and after election.

“We are working with other relevant governmental agencies and commissions to make the cash backing for the new salary structure possible,” he said.

SHOWUNMI said his role in Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign had nothing to do with his wife, Oluyemi Adeyemi-Showunmi, securing the position.

According to him, the posting was purely an internal administrative decision by the commission, urging those questioning it to examine her track record.

He made the remarks on Channels Television, where he became agitated after the presenter asked whether his wife’s new role was compensation for his political activities.

The controversy began after INEC redeployed Adeyemi-Showunmi, who was the commission’s administrative secretary in Lagos State, to its national headquarters to head Electoral Operations ahead of the 2027 elections.

In the reshuffle, Isah Gummi, who previously headed Electoral Operations, was moved to the Voter Registry Department, while Adeyemi-Showunmi took over his former position.

Reacting to insinuations linking his political activities to his wife’s elevation, Showunmi described her as a career INEC official who had spent her entire working life with the commission.

He said she joined INEC immediately after completing her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), programme in Maiduguri and had remained with the commission ever since, adding that her redeployment was an internal arrangement unrelated to him.

Showunmi rejected suggestions that his wife was rewarded with a new position at the commission following his inclusion in the APC’s 2027 presidential campaign council. (Guardian)