Lecturers endorsing politicians can’t be returning officers – Atiku’s aide to INEC

Phrank Shaibu, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication for the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has cautioned against entrusting lecturers who have endorsed politicians with crucial electoral duties. Shaibu stated that academics who openly support a presidential candidate should not be assigned roles such as returning officer, collation officer, or other positions involved in collating, declaring, and announcing election results.

Over 600 senior academics from public universities in Northern Nigeria endorsed President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid at a meeting organized by Tinubu's Presidential Adviser, Ibrahim Masari, in Kaduna. The academics acknowledged Tinubu's economic struggles and some reforms' positive impacts on education, agriculture, and infrastructure.

However, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Chris Piwuna, has denied the endorsement, maintaining that the union remains politically neutral. Shaibu emphasized that electoral credibility hinges not only on neutrality but also on the public's confidence in the impartiality of those administering the electoral process.

He warned that academics who openly declare partisan allegiance should not be allowed to hold sensitive electoral responsibilities. Shaibu accused Tinubu's administration of attempting to strip academics of their dignity and political neutrality, suggesting that universities should remain centers of independent thought and scholarship, not recruitment grounds for political parties.

He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to exclude academics with publicly declared partisan allegiance from sensitive electoral roles in the 2027 elections.