Leading civic rights organisations have strongly cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against what they describe as a dangerous gamble with Nigeria’s democratic future—insisting that the appointment of partisan Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) makes the promise of a free and fair 2027 election practically impossible.
In a joint alarm raised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), the organisations decried what they called the quiet politicisation of INEC’s top positions through the strategic nomination of loyalists of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as RECs.
According to SERAP, allowing known APC affiliates to hold key electoral roles will ultimately strip INEC of its neutrality and damage public trust in the 2027 electoral process before campaigns even begin.
“No one should expect a credible election when the referees are openly wearing the jersey of the ruling party,” SERAP said in a statement signed by Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare. “President Tinubu must immediately withdraw these nominations and replace them with individuals of proven independence and non-partisan character.”
SERAP further urged Tinubu to empower the Attorney General to sponsor a bill strengthening INEC’s institutional autonomy, as a demonstration of commitment to electoral reform and constitutional order.
HURIWA also did not mince words. In its own statement, the group warned that the current administration was setting Nigeria on a path to “democratic collapse” by turning INEC into what it called “a political tool in APC’s arsenal.”
“The ruling party cannot populate INEC with its loyalists and then pretend it believes in democracy,” said HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko. “This is how democracy dies—not with tanks, but with captured institutions and complicit silence.”
The groups referenced the controversial confirmation of four new RECs in October 2023—Etekamba Umoren (Akwa Ibom), Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Bunmi Omoseyindemi (Lagos), and Anugbum Onuoha (Rivers)—who are all reported to have links with the APC.
HURIWA added that beyond manipulating INEC, the ruling party was pressuring opposition governors to defect to the APC as part of a broader 2027 election strategy aimed at consolidating power before any ballots are cast.
Both organisations called on Nigerians to remain vigilant and resist attempts to turn the country into what they described as a “one-party dictatorship under democratic disguise.”
“Our message is simple: you cannot have APC RECs and expect a credible election,” they concluded.