The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of ethnic bias in its recent deployments of staff.
ADC in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that the commission gave preference to officials from South West where President Bola Tinubu comes from.
The party also said it has received information that several officers from nothern part of the country who had served in departments like Electoral Operations and ICT were moved to other departments.
“We have specific names of officers moved from Electoral Operations and ICT in a number of northern states and replaced with officers from Lagos and other South-West states.
“INEC may dismiss this as routine. But we have noticed a pattern, especially along ethnic lines, and we are concerned,” the party said.
ADC said that while it is not accusing INEC of any nefarious plans yet, it believes that any suspicion or allegation that potentially undermines trust in and the credibility of the electoral umpire must not be dismissed lightly, “especially if those allegations border on sectional bias that could actively undermine the neutrality of election officials and the .ommission’s own impartiality.”
The party stated that regional concentration in sensitive departments cannot be brushed aside as routine administrative matters.
“And concentrating strategic operational appointments in a manner that suggests ethnic or sectional bias to give an advantage to President Tinubu and the APC must not be ignored,” ADC said.
It called on the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to publish the postings, selection criteria and reasons for the changes to reassure all citizens in every part of the country that they would be treated fairly and their electoral choice would not be undermined just because they speak a different language or come from another part of the country.
“Allowing such allegations to go without a serious, evidence-based rebuttal could have serious implications for the integrity of the elections,” the party warned.
