01/09/2026
: BREAKING!!! Atiku Abubakar Declares That Under His 2027 Presidency A New Law Will Be Signed To End The Presidential Power To Appoint The Chairman And Members Of The Independent National Electoral Commission; An Independent And Transparent Panel Made Up Of The Judiciary, Civil Society And Professional Bodies, Will Now Be Responsible For The Appointment Of New INEC Officials, To Ensure Free, Fair And Credible Future Elections In The Country; The INEC Leadership Will Be Fully Independent And No Longer Indebted To The Sitting President
The leading opposition party, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, led by its 2027 Presidential Candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has pledged that it will not appoint the Chairman and members of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, when elected President in 2027.
The pledge is contained in the ADC’s 2027 Policy Document on Electoral Reform.
According to the Document, the Atiku Presidency will: "Remove direct Executive control over the appointment of Electoral Officers, to strengthen the independence, credibility, and public trust in Nigeria’s elections."
It maintained that the current arrangement, where the President appoints the INEC Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, has weakened public trust and made the Commission appear as an extension of the Executive arm of government.
However, the ADC's concerns are not new to Nigerians. In 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Amina Zakari as INEC National Commissioner, triggered protests over alleged family ties to the President.
In 2021, the Senate rejected the nomination of Lauretta Onochie, a Presidential Aide, as an INEC Commissioner, following nationwide criticism.
In 2023, several REC appointments were also questioned, over alleged political affiliations.
The debates have continued with the recent appointment of the current INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which drew allegations of partisanship.
For Atiku, the practice must end. The ADC Document proposes to "Establish an independent, multi-Stakeholder selection process, involving the Judiciary, Civil Society and Professional Bodies".
It also seeks to "Provide secure tenure for appointed officials., to protect them from political pressure or arbitrary removal".
In effect, a REC in Sokoto State, or a National Commissioner in Calabar, will not lose their job for refusing the pressure from the A*o Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, or a State Government.
"When elections are credible, democracy works. When the Referee is not independent, the game is rigged before it even starts", a source close to the ADC Presidential Campaign said.
Political Analysts say that the Executive appointment of INEC Officials has been a problem since 1999. Every government has been accused of filling the Commission with Loyalists and Allies, which creates doubt, even before voting begins.
With this proposal, Atiku states that he will break the cycle. When elected in 2027, he will sign a new Law that removes the power of appointment from the Presidency, and hands it to a broad-based, transparent Panel.
For millions of Nigerians who stood in long queues in 2023, and may do so again in 2027, the message is direct: Under the Atiku Presidency, the President will no longer have the power to control INEC.
