Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, has questioned the transparency of arrangements for producing sensitive materials for Nigeria’s 2027 general election and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to identify the firms awarded printing work. He said secrecy around the contracts and the selection of suppliers could erode public trust in the electoral process. In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, his Director of Strategic Communication, for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, the former vice-president also demanded clarification over recent personnel changes in departments central to election administration and information technology. Isa Magaji Gum was reportedly transferred from the Electoral Operations Department to the Voter Registry Department, while Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi was named head of Electoral Operations and Dr Lawrence Bayode was listed as head of Information and Communication Technology. Atiku said INEC must set out why the changes were made and prove that they complied with proper procedures. “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 further asked the commission to verify or reject claims that Hitech, or an affiliated company, had won a contract to print sensitive materials for the 2027 polls. “We are concerned by reports that more than half of the sensitive election materials, including presidential ballot materials, may have been allocated to an undisclosed company reportedly based in France. There are also questions about reports that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc is handling materials for only 15 to 17 states, while private companies are responsible for the remaining states.” Atiku said voters had a right to know which businesses were producing ballot papers and on what basis the contracts were granted. “Nigerians should not have to depend on unnamed sources to discover who is producing their ballots,” he said. The statement requested disclosure of the contractors’ names, the division of work, the procurement process and the safeguards for securing the materials. Atiku argued that an award to Hitech or a connected entity would prompt concerns over INEC’s impartiality, pointing to widely reported commercial links between the Chagoury family, owners of Hitech, and the Tinubu family. He also cited disputes involving major Hitech projects during President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Still, he said INEC should explicitly clear the issue if neither Hitech nor any related company has been chosen for election printing. He additionally called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to publish allocations for currency printing and explain the participation of domestic and overseas contractors. “We urge INEC to maximise the capacity of local security-printing firms and ensure that all ballot papers and result sheets are properly secured and accounted for at every stage of the electoral process. Any attempt to manipulate the 2027 elections will be resisted through the ballot, lawful civic action and other democratic means available to Nigerians,” he said.
