Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded immediate disclosure of companies handling sensitive election materials for the 2027 general elections, raising concerns over reported redeployments of key officials at the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Atiku warned that the commission must provide verifiable assurances of its neutrality amid questions surrounding the appointment of officials to critical departments and the alleged award of ballot-printing contracts to private companies.
He made the demands in a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday.
The former vice-president also asked INEC to confirm or deny reports that Hitech, or a company associated with it, had secured a contract to print sensitive materials for the 2027 elections.
According to him, the reported changes in the commission’s Electoral Operations Department raise questions that require urgent answers.
Reports indicate that the department’s director, Isa Magaji Gum, was redeployed to the Voter Registry Department, while Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi was appointed to head Electoral Operations.
Dr Lawrence Bayode was also identified as the head of the Information and Communication Technology Department.
Atiku said the departments were central to election administration and urged INEC to explain the criteria used for the appointments and redeployments.
“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 added, “Nigerians will not accept vague assurances on matters this serious.”
Atiku, however, cautioned against presuming that any official was compromised because of ethnicity, background or personal associations.
He maintained that reports of political connections and the concentration of appointments in sensitive departments made it necessary for the commission to provide verifiable assurances of its impartiality.
The former vice-president accused the government of creating conditions that could fuel public suspicion about the electoral process.
“A government that has driven millions of Nigerians into hardship must not be allowed to turn the electoral umpire into an instrument of political survival,” he said.
He added that the reported changes in sensitive departments, alongside unanswered questions about major contracts, could deepen suspicions that the administration was seeking an electoral advantage.
Atiku insisted that INEC must address the concerns through immediate and transparent disclosure.
## Atiku queries foreign ballot-printing arrangements
The former presidential candidate also raised concerns over reports 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.
He said the company was believed to be based in France but did not publicly establish its identity in the statement.
Atiku further questioned reports that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc might be handling ballot-printing operations for only 15 to 17 states, with private printing firms expected to handle the remaining work.
He demanded that INEC publish the names of all companies engaged for the exercise, the materials assigned to them and the states covered by each contract.
He also called for disclosure of the procurement methods, security clearances and safeguards governing the production, storage and delivery of the materials.
“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.
“Nigerians should not have to depend on unnamed sources to discover who is producing their ballots.”
Atiku argued that Nigeria’s domestic security-printing capacity should be fully utilised where qualified and capable of meeting the requirements.
He also called for strict accountability in the handling of ballot papers, result sheets and other sensitive electoral documents.
## Atiku alleges conflict-of-interest risk
Atiku said any contract awarded to Hitech or a company associated with it 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.
However, the allegation remains Atiku’s position, and the statement did not establish that Hitech had been awarded the disputed contract.
He urged INEC to provide documentary evidence to settle the controversy and prevent speculation from undermining public confidence in the 2027 elections.
The former vice-president also warned electoral officials against any attempt to manipulate the process, insisting that the forthcoming polls must meet the highest standards of transparency and accountability.
“Nigerians who have been impoverished and pushed into extreme poverty will resist any subversion of their votes through legitimate, peaceful and democratic means,” he said.
He further declared, “Let there be no mistake: Nigerians will not accept a stolen election.”
Atiku said any attempt to rig the polls would be challenged through voting, lawful civic action and other democratic channels.
He warned that INEC officials would be held accountable for their conduct, adding that the commission must demonstrate fairness at every stage of preparations for the elections.
“Nigerians are entitled to demand answers about the institutions and processes that will determine their votes. INEC must not ask the public to accept assurances in place of accountability,” he said.
The former vice-president called on the electoral commission to make public the details of its arrangements for the production and custody of sensitive election materials.
INEC had yet to respond to the specific allegations in Atiku’s statement as at the time of filing this report.
Editorial note: The report is framed around Atiku’s demands and allegations, not as established wrongdoing. The final sentence about INEC’s response should be retained only if your newsroom has independently confirmed that the commission was contacted and had not responded by publication time. Otherwise, remove it or update it with INEC’s verified position.
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