The Peter Obi Media Office has raised the alarm over the reported endorsement of President Bola Tinubu by about 600 university academics.

It alleged that the development could be an early attempt to compromise the 2027 presidential election.

In a statement on Tuesday, the media office said the issue should not be dismissed as the political choice of private citizens.

Its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr., said many university academics are often recruited by the Independent National Electoral Commission as returning and collation officers.

He said this made the reported endorsement a matter of concern ahead of the 2027 election.

The Obi camp questioned whether academics who openly support the incumbent should later be allowed to handle sensitive electoral duties.

It warned that such a situation could create a conflict of interest and weaken public confidence in the election.

The statement said electoral manipulation did not necessarily begin on election day.

“Electoral rigging does not suddenly occur on election day; it begins months or even years earlier,” the group said.

The media office urged Nigerians to remain vigilant ahead of the election.

It called on INEC to publish the names of the academics reportedly involved in the endorsement.

It also demanded that those whose political activities create a conflict of interest be barred from serving as returning officers, collation officers or other sensitive electoral officials in 2027.

The group further asked INEC to publish the names of prospective returning and collation officers before the election.

It said this would allow political parties, civil society groups and Nigerians to examine their political backgrounds.

The Obi camp also called on university governing councils and academic bodies to strengthen conflict-of-interest rules for staff involved in partisan politics.

It warned that the credibility of the 2027 election could be damaged long before voting begins.

“Nigerians are watching. The machinery for rigging must not be allowed to take root before the election even begins,” it said.

The group insisted that Nigerians must be allowed to choose their leaders freely.

It said the outcome of the 2027 election must be determined by the votes of Nigerians and not by what it described as a “pre-arranged electoral network.”