Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, disclose details of contracts for printing sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 general elections and explain reported changes in key departments.
Mr Atiku also asked the commission to confirm or deny reports that Hitech or companies associated with it had been awarded contracts to print sensitive election materials, warning that secrecy surrounding the process could undermine public confidence in the polls.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Atiku called for the publication of the names of companies engaged by INEC, the procurement methods used and the security arrangements governing the production, storage and delivery of election materials.
The former vice-president said reported changes in the commission’s Electoral Operations Department and other key units required urgent clarification.
Reports indicate that Isa Magaji Gum, formerly director of Electoral Operations, had been redeployed to the Voter Registry Department, while Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi was appointed to head Electoral Operations.
Dr Lawrence Bayode was also identified as the head of the Information and Communication Technology department.
Mr Atiku said the departments were central to election administration and urged INEC to explain the criteria for the appointments and redeployments.
“These departments are at the heart of election administration. INEC must explain these decisions, publish the criteria applied and show that every appointment and redeployment followed due process, was based on merit and was free from political interference. Nigerians will not accept vague assurances on matters this serious,” he said.
He, however, cautioned against presuming that any official was compromised because of their ethnicity, background or associations.
Mr Atiku said reported political connections or concerns about the concentration of appointments required the commission to provide verifiable assurances that its impartiality would be protected.
He also linked the concerns to the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that public dissatisfaction with the government should not be allowed to influence the conduct of the 2027 elections.
The former vice-president said the combination of reported changes in sensitive departments and unanswered questions over major contracts could fuel suspicions that the government was seeking an electoral advantage.
He urged INEC to dispel such concerns through full and verifiable disclosure.
Mr Atiku also demanded clarification over reports that more than half of INEC’s sensitive election materials, including materials relating to the presidential ballot, might have been allocated to a company whose identity and credentials had not been publicly disclosed and which was believed to be based in France.
He further expressed concern over reports that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPMC) might be responsible for printing election materials for only 15 to 17 states, with private companies handling the remaining assignments.
The former vice-president said INEC should publish the names of all companies engaged for the exercise, the materials and states assigned to each, the procurement methods adopted and the security clearances obtained.
He also called for details of the safeguards governing the production, storage and delivery of the materials.
“These reports demand urgent and unequivocal answers. INEC must confirm or deny them and publish the names of every company engaged, the materials and states assigned to each, the procurement method, the security clearances obtained and the safeguards governing production, storage and delivery,” he said.
“Nigerians should not have to depend on unnamed sources to discover who is producing their ballots.”
Mr Atiku specifically questioned the possibility of Hitech or a company associated with it handling the printing of sensitive election materials, citing publicly reported business ties between the Chagoury family, which owns Hitech, and the Tinubu family.
He argued that any such contract would raise concerns about the neutrality of the electoral commission.
“The integrity of INEC in the forthcoming election will be seriously compromised if Hitech or a company associated with it is awarded a contract to produce sensitive election materials,” he said.
Mr Atiku added that INEC had a responsibility to disclose the identities of companies awarded the contracts, particularly if the printing was not being handled by the NSPMC.
He also cited the controversy surrounding major contracts awarded to Hitech under the Tinubu administration, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, which the government has defended as having been awarded through a special procurement process.
He urged INEC to disclose the value, scope and procurement method of any contract awarded to Hitech or an affiliated company, alongside details of the firm’s capacity and security arrangements.
Mr Atiku further called for political parties to be given a meaningful opportunity to scrutinise the process under appropriate safeguards.
He said that if neither Hitech nor any company associated with it had been selected, INEC should issue a clear statement to that effect.
The former vice-president also urged the commission to maximise the use of qualified domestic security-printing capacity and establish a transparent chain of custody for ballot papers, result sheets and other sensitive election documents.
He extended his concerns to the printing of higher-denomination banknotes by foreign companies, saying the practice raised questions about the protection and utilisation of Nigeria’s security-printing capacity.
He called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose its current printing allocations and explain the roles assigned to the NSPMC and any foreign contractors.
Warning against electoral malpractice, Mr Atiku said the 2027 elections must be conducted transparently and that INEC officials would be held accountable for their actions.
He said Nigerians facing economic hardship would resist any attempt to undermine their votes through legitimate, peaceful and democratic means.
“Let there be no mistake: Nigerians will not accept a stolen election. Any attempt to rig the 2027 polls will be met with determined resistance through the ballot, lawful civic action, and every other democratic channel available to the people,” he said.
“INEC officials must understand that the country is watching and that they will be held accountable for their conduct.”
Mr Atiku said the ADC would closely monitor preparations for the elections and alert domestic and international observers to any lack of transparency in the handling of sensitive election materials.
He insisted that the commission must demonstrate fairness and accountability at every stage of the electoral process rather than rely on assurances.
“Nigerians are entitled to demand answers about the institutions and processes that will determine their votes. INEC must not ask the public to accept assurances in place of accountability,” he said.