The Peter Obi Media Office has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to scrutinise the reported endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by about 600 university lecturers ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The media office, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri, on Tuesday, alleged that the development could undermine public confidence in the electoral process and create concerns over the neutrality of academics who may be engaged as election officials.
According to the statement, university academics have frequently been recruited to serve as returning and collation officers during elections, making their reported endorsement of an incumbent presidential candidate a potential conflict-of-interest concern.
The office described the reported endorsement as an “early attempt” to establish a network of partisan actors ahead of the 2027 election.
“The Peter Obi Media Office has become aware of reports that approximately 600 university academics have endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This development is profoundly troubling and should be recognised for what it signifies: an early attempt to build and legitimise a network of partisan actors ahead of the 2027 presidential election,” it said.
The office argued that the academics’ professional connection to electoral duties made the development different from an ordinary expression of political preference by private citizens.
“Their public backing for the incumbent consequently raises a serious and unavoidable question: is the framework for manipulating the 2027 election already being established?” the statement asked.
It further alleged that electoral malpractice, where it occurs, could begin well before election day through the identification and positioning of individuals perceived to have influence over the electoral process.
“Electoral rigging does not suddenly occur on election day; it begins months or even years earlier through the identification, cultivation, and placement of individuals capable of influencing the process when votes are finally cast,” the office alleged.
The media office urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and called on INEC to publish the names of prospective returning and collation officers well ahead of the 2027 polls.
It said early disclosure would enable political parties, civil society organisations and members of the public to scrutinise the political neutrality of those being considered for sensitive electoral assignments.
The office also urged INEC to publish the names of the academics reportedly involved in the endorsement and bar them from serving as returning officers, collation officers or other electoral personnel during the 2027 general elections.
“We therefore urge INEC to release the names of all 600+ academics involved in this or any other political endorsement and to formally prohibit them from serving as Returning Officers, Collation Officers, or electoral staff during the 2027 general elections,” it said.
The Obi media office also called on university governing councils and academic bodies to establish stricter conflict-of-interest rules to prevent staff members from using their professional positions to support partisan political mobilisation.
It maintained that Nigerians should be allowed to freely choose their leaders, warning that any perception of a pre-arranged electoral structure could erode confidence in the 2027 election.
“Nigerians are watching. The machinery for rigging must not be allowed to take root before the election even begins,” the statement added.
