Atiku Challenges INEC To Come Clean On 2027 Ballot Contracts, Appointments

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide immediate and full disclosure over reported changes in key departments and the production, printing and custody of sensitive materials for the 2027 general elections.

Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, 2026, by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, urging the electoral commission to address concerns surrounding appointments, redeployments and the award of contracts for sensitive election materials.

He said reported changes in INEC’s Electoral Operations Department raised questions about the commission’s impartiality and the procedures guiding appointments to critical positions.

Reports cited in the statement indicated that Director Isa Magaji Gum had been moved from Electoral Operations to the Voter Registry Department, while Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi had been appointed to head Electoral Operations. Dr Lawrence Bayode was also identified as the head of the Information and Communication Technology Department.

Atiku called on INEC to explain the decisions, disclose the criteria used and demonstrate that the appointments and redeployments were based on merit, followed due process and were free from political interference.

“These departments are at the heart of election administration. INEC must explain these decisions, publish the criteria applied and show that every appointment and redeployment followed due process, was based on merit and was free from political interference,” he said.

He, however, cautioned against presuming that any official was compromised because of their ethnicity, background or associations, while insisting that INEC should provide verifiable assurances where reported political connections or appointment patterns raised public concerns.

Atiku questions reported ballot-printing contracts

The former vice-president also demanded that INEC categorically confirm or deny whether Hitech or any company associated with the firm had secured a contract to print sensitive materials for the 2027 general elections.

According to the statement, Atiku said information available to him suggested that more than half of INEC’s sensitive election materials, including presidential ballot assets, might have been allocated to a company whose identity and credentials had not been publicly disclosed and which was believed to be based in France.

He also expressed concern over reports that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPMC) might be responsible for printing materials for only 15 to 17 states, with private companies handling the remaining assignments.

Atiku urged INEC to publish the names of all companies engaged for the exercise, the materials and states allocated to each contractor, the procurement methods used, the security clearances obtained and the safeguards governing production, storage and delivery.

“These reports demand urgent and unequivocal answers. INEC must confirm or deny them and publish the names of every company engaged, the materials and states assigned to each, the procurement method, the security clearances obtained and the safeguards governing production, storage and delivery,” he said.

He argued that the public should not have to rely on unnamed sources to establish which companies were producing sensitive election materials.

Raises concerns over Hitech’s reported links

Atiku said any contract awarded to Hitech or a company associated with it for the production of sensitive election materials would raise concerns about INEC’s neutrality, citing publicly reported business ties between the Chagoury family, which owns Hitech, and the family of President Bola Tinubu.

He maintained that the commission should disclose the contract’s value, scope and procurement method if either Hitech or an associated company had been selected.

He also called for verification of the contractor’s capacity and security arrangements and said political parties should be given a meaningful opportunity to scrutinise the process under appropriate safeguards.

“If neither Hitech nor a company associated with it has been selected, INEC must say so clearly and put the matter beyond doubt,” he added.

The statement also referenced public controversy surrounding major contracts awarded to Hitech under the Tinubu administration, including the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway project. It noted that the government had defended the highway contract as having been awarded through a special procurement process.

Atiku called on INEC to make maximum use of qualified domestic security-printing capacity and ensure that every ballot paper, result sheet and other sensitive document was protected through a transparent chain of custody.

Seeks disclosure on currency printing

The former vice-president further raised questions about reports concerning the printing of higher-denomination Nigerian banknotes by foreign companies.

He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose its current currency-printing allocations and explain the respective roles of NSPMC and any foreign contractors.

According to him, the issue raised broader questions about the protection and utilisation of Nigeria’s security-printing capacity.

Warns against electoral manipulation

Atiku also criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic record, arguing that public hardship and dissatisfaction made transparency in the preparation for the 2027 elections particularly important.

He warned INEC officials against any attempt to manipulate the electoral process, saying Nigerians would resist any subversion of their votes through lawful, peaceful and democratic means.

“Let there be no mistake: Nigerians will not accept a stolen election. Any attempt to rig the 2027 polls will be met with determined resistance through the ballot, lawful civic action, and every other democratic channel available to the people,” he said.

He added that electoral officials would be held accountable for their conduct as the country prepares for the next general elections.

Atiku also said the African Democratic Congress (ADC) would closely monitor the process and alert domestic and international observers to any lack of transparency in the preparation and production of election materials.

He insisted that INEC must provide evidence of compliance with due process rather than rely on general assurances about its neutrality.

The statement concluded with a call for full disclosure at every stage of the election preparations, stressing that Nigerians were entitled to clear answers about the institutions and processes that would determine the outcome of their votes.