ADC Raises Ethnic Bias Concerns Over INEC Postings
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain its recent staff postings. The party suspects that some deployments may favour officials from President Bola Tinubu’s South-West region.
Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The group wants answers over $6.23 million in missing election funds and more than ₦1.63 trillion in other public funds.
ADC Questions INEC’s Staff Redeployments
In a statement, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi raised concerns about recent staff changes. He said the party received intelligence and “direct complaints” about deployments across strategic departments and stations.
According to ADC, several northern officials who worked in Electoral Operations and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have moved to other departments. The party claims that officials from Lagos and other South-West states replaced some of them.
“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. INEC may dismiss this as routine. But we have noticed a pattern, especially along ethnic lines, and we are concerned,” the party said.
However, ADC stressed that it has not accused INEC of any “nefarious” plans. Instead, the party wants the commission to address concerns that could damage public confidence in its neutrality.
ADC Demands Transparency From INEC
ADC has urged INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to publish the recent postings and selection criteria. The party also wants the commission to explain why it made the changes.
According to ADC, transparent explanations would reassure Nigerians that ethnicity and regional background would not influence election administration.
