By George Mgbeleke

African Democratic Congress has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately review the use of politically exposed academics as Returning and Collation Officers in the 2027 general elections.

The ADC in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi made the call following a newspaper report that more than 600 senior lecturers from public universities across Northern Nigeria have endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election.

The ADC said the development raises a fundamental question of electoral credibility and conflict of interest, particularly because university lecturers and vice chancellors have routinely been entrusted with the sensitive responsibility of collating election results and declaring winners.

While acknowledging the constitutional right of every Nigerian, including academics, to support or endorse any political candidate, the party said no person who has openly taken a partisan position should subsequently be entrusted with determining the outcome of an election involving that candidate.

The principle, the ADC said, is straightforward:
“You cannot campaign for a candidate and then be entrusted with counting the votes and declaring winners in the same election that your candidate is contesting in.”

The party, therefore, called on INEC to establish and publish clear criteria, disqualifying academics and other prospective election officials who have publicly endorsed candidates, participated in partisan political activities, or otherwise demonstrated an obvious political affiliation.

It also urged INEC to publish the names of proposed Returning and Collation Officers sufficiently ahead of the elections to allow political parties and the public to identify and raise legitimate conflict-of-interest concerns.

“The integrity of an election does not begin when the first ballot is cast. It begins with the neutrality of the people entrusted to administer, collate, and declare its outcome. Nigerians must never be placed in a position where those who have publicly chosen a side are subsequently presented as neutral arbiters of the contest,” the party said.

Endorse rotational presidency to end marginalization in Nigeria- LP Chieftain  Dr. Enendu tells Prrsident Tinubu
By Our Correspondeny

As 2027 election draws close, Labour Party Chieftain, Dr. Chigbo Enendu has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to endorse rotational presidency to end marginalization in the country.

Enendu stated this while reviewing the political development in Nigeria since after the country’s independence in an interview with Daily Champion on Sunday.

The LP Chieftain noted that since after independence power at the presidency level had been  always shared between the North and West of Nigeria’s allegedly by corrupt politicians who, according to him, have continued to plunder the economy and keep Nigerians in perpetual misery.

Enendu, popularly identified as Akwaudene, also the Chairman of South East Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association of Nigeria said the current political arrangement where power is shared between North  and West had denied Igbo and minority people in Nigeria their right to be elected president of Nigeria, adding that rotational presidency would put an end to power monopoly, problem of marginalization, financial misappropriation, economy plundering among other anomalies.

He stressed that it was allegedly the same corrupt and selfish Nigerian politicians and power cabals that made it impossible for the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi to be elected president in 2023. 

” The best approach to the current political arrangement in Nigeria is rotational presidency.
They know Igbos are focused and can salvage the country. But they won’t give it to Igbo because of corruption and selfish interests. So, they won’t give Obi the chance to rule.  Igbos should support Peter Obi. But some Igbo politicians are allegedly the servants of Hausa-Fulani political interests”, Enendu said.
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By George Mgɓeleke

Foremost pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) demands an urgent and comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s passport issuance system, following allegations surrounding the issuance of a second passport to Abuja-based realtor, Rebecca Godwin-Isaac, while an earlier passport was reportedly in the custody of the Federal High Court.

HURIWA says the controversy raises serious questions about the integrity, security and accountability of the Nigerian passport system.

The group says the Federal Government must immediately reform, standardise and enforce fool-proof procedures that make it impossible for anyone to obtain multiple passports through questionable processes.

HURIWA notes that the lawyers handling the matter allege that Godwin-Isaac reported an earlier passport, B00485650, missing or stolen and subsequently obtained another passport, B51450551.
The lawyers also allege that the second passport was processed through a “non-appearance/no-show” procedure and have questioned how the Nigeria Immigration Service allegedly issued another passport while the earlier document remained in court custody.

HURIWA says these allegations must be independently investigated because a passport is not an ordinary identity document. It is a sovereign document issued in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The association is particularly concerned by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s own warning that foreigners may be using Nigerian passports to commit crimes abroad.

The minister recently acknowledged that the use of Nigerian passports by non-Nigerians is causing international embarrassment and disclosed plans to strengthen verification of citizenship before passports are issued.

HURIWA says the minister’s admission makes the latest passport controversy even more troubling.

If the Federal Government is already aware that non-Nigerians can allegedly obtain Nigerian passports through fraudulent means, HURIWA asks why the Nigeria Immigration Service has not completely blocked the loopholes that make such abuse possible.

The prominent civil society organisation demands to know whether the NIS has a central system capable of immediately identifying every valid passport issued to an applicant. HURIWA wonders why even with multiple chain of national identification system in Nigeria uploaded and managed by the National Identity management Commission (NIMC), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) allows non-Nigerians to obtain Nigerian international passports which constitutes a grave threat to our national security interest.

HURIWA also asks whether the immigration authorities have an effective mechanism for flagging passports surrendered to courts, cancelled, reported stolen or declared missing.

The Rights organisation says the alleged issuance of a fresh passport while another document remains under court custody should not be treated as an isolated administrative error.

It could expose a deeper weakness in the country’s identity-management and immigration-control system.

HURIWA therefore calls for a full audit of the circumstances surrounding the disputed passport and several pther cases, including the identity verification, biometric records, application trail, approving officers and the circumstances under which the document was allegedly issued.

The association further demands that any immigration officer found to have violated established procedures should face appropriate disciplinary and criminal action where evidence of wrongdoing is established.

HURIWA says the investigation must not end with the identification of an individual applicant. The authorities must also establish whether officials facilitated or enabled any irregular issuance.

The Rights group recalls that the lawyers representing the complainant family have given the Comptroller-General of the NIS 30 days to respond to their complaint and have threatened legal action if the agency fails to act.

HURIWA urges the NIS to respond transparently and promptly rather than allow the controversy to become another unresolved institutional complaint.

The group also calls on the Interior Minister to publish the outcome of the investigation and disclose the measures being taken to prevent similar incidents.
HURIWA says Nigeria cannot continue to demand that foreign countries protect the integrity of Nigerian citizens abroad while allowing loopholes that allegedly enable non-Nigerians to acquire Nigerian travel documents.

The association further says the credibility of the Nigerian passport is directly linked to national security, international reputation and the safety of genuine Nigerian travellers.

HURIWA is therefore asking the Federal Government to urgently introduce a centralised passport-verification system linked to reliable citizenship records, court orders, biometric databases and records of cancelled, lost or surrendered passports.

The association also demands strict monitoring of the so-called replacement passport process to ensure that reports of lost or stolen passports are not abused as a gateway for obtaining fresh documents through fraudulent means.

HURIWA says the alleged passport scandal should serve as a wake-up call for the Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service.

The group stresses that accountability must begin from the top because the Interior Ministry exercises supervisory responsibility over the immigration service.

HURIWA says it is unacceptable for the government to acknowledge that foreigners may be using Nigerian passports to commit crimes abroad while failing to decisively eliminate the institutional weaknesses that allegedly make such abuse possible.

The association therefore calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demand a comprehensive report from the Interior Ministry and the NIS on the state of passport integrity in Nigeria.

HURIWA also demands that the Federal Government establish clear timelines for implementing the minister’s proposed citizenship-document verification system across the 774 local government areas.
The association warns that failure to act decisively will continue to expose Nigeria to international embarrassment and undermine confidence in the country’s most important travel and identity document.