Atiku cautions INEC against appointing Tinubu’s supporters as returning officers
By Ali Baba-Inuwa
Former Vice President and ADC Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against appointing lecturers who have declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Returning or Collation Officers in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Monday, September 14, 2026, Atiku Abubakar said he was responding to reports that more than 600 senior lecturers from public universities in Northern Nigeria had publicly endorsed President Tinubu for a second term. He noted that while lecturers retain the constitutional right to support any candidate, those who have taken open partisan positions should not oversee elections involving that candidate.
Atiku Abubakar stated that “you cannot campaign for a candidate and then be entrusted with counting the votes and declaring winners in the same election.” He argued that electoral credibility depends not only on how votes are cast, but also on the neutrality of the persons who collate and declare results, warning that deploying partisan lecturers would damage public confidence.
The former Vice President urged INEC to publish the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers well ahead of the polls to allow parties and the public to raise conflict-of-interest concerns. He further called on the commission to protect universities from being drawn into partisan politics and to uphold strict guidelines for the selection of election officials.
