The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised the alarm over alleged ethnic bias in recent staff postings by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding full disclosure of the criteria guiding the redeployment of officers to strategic departments.
The opposition party alleged that personnel from northern states serving in Electoral Operations and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) departments were being moved out and replaced by officers from Lagos and other South-West states, President Bola Tinubu’s home region.
In a statement on Sunday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party had received intelligence and direct complaints about personnel changes in some of INEC’s strategic departments and stations.
“We have specific names of officers moved from Electoral Operations and ICT in a number of northern states and replaced with officers from Lagos and other South-West states,” Abdullahi quoted the party as saying.
The ADC said the pattern had raised concerns about possible sectional considerations in appointments to sensitive positions, warning that such developments could undermine confidence in the electoral umpire ahead of the 2027 general election.
Although the party said it was not accusing INEC of any nefarious plot, it insisted that allegations suggesting ethnic favouritism in the deployment of electoral personnel must not be dismissed as routine administrative decisions.
“Especially if those allegations border on sectional bias that could actively undermine the neutrality of election officials and the Commission’s own impartiality,” the party said.
The ADC warned that concentrating strategic operational appointments in a manner suggesting ethnic bias could fuel suspicions that the electoral process was being tilted in favour of Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
It challenged INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to publish the recent postings, the selection criteria and the reasons for the changes.
The party said transparency was necessary to reassure Nigerians that their votes would be protected and that electoral officials would discharge their responsibilities without regard to ethnicity, language or region.
“Allowing such allegations to go without a serious, evidence-based rebuttal could have serious implications for the integrity of the elections,” the ADC warned.