Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has demanded full disclosure from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over reported redeployments in key departments and the production, printing and custody of sensitive materials for the 2027 general elections.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, urged the commission to explain recent changes in its Electoral Operations Department and disclose the criteria used for appointments and redeployments.

Reports indicate that Director Isa Magaji Gum was moved from Electoral Operations to the Voter Registry Department, while Mrs Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi was appointed to head Electoral Operations. Dr Lawrence Bayode has also been identified as the head of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Atiku said the departments were central to election administration and insisted that INEC must demonstrate that the decisions followed due process, were based on merit 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. Nigerians will not accept vague assurances on matters this serious,” he said.

The former vice-president, however, cautioned against presuming that any official was compromised because of ethnicity, background or associations. He said reported political connections or a concentration of appointments that raised public concern required verifiable assurances that the commission’s impartiality remained intact.

Atiku linked the concerns to the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, arguing that the government must not be allowed to use the electoral umpire to secure its political survival.

He said changes in sensitive election departments, alongside unanswered questions about major contracts, could deepen public suspicion that the administration was seeking an electoral advantage ahead of 2027.

INEC, he added, must dispel such concerns through immediate, comprehensive and verifiable disclosure.

Atiku also challenged the commission to confirm or deny reports that Hitech or any company associated with it had secured a contract to print sensitive materials for the .2027 elections.

He 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 printing companies handling the remaining assignments.

“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,” Atiku said.

“Nigerians should not have to depend on unnamed sources to discover who is producing their ballots.”

He warned that awarding sensitive election-material contracts to Hitech or an associated company would raise questions about INEC’s neutrality, citing publicly reported business ties between the Chagoury family, which owns Hitech, and the Tinubu family.

“The integrity of INEC in the forthcoming election will be seriously compromised if Hitech or a company associated with it is awarded a contract to produce sensitive election materials,” he said.

Atiku said INEC had a moral obligation to identify all companies awarded the contracts, particularly if the printing was not being undertaken by NSPMC.

He also called for disclosure of any contract awarded to Hitech or an associated company, including its value, scope, procurement method, technical capacity and security arrangements. He urged the commission to give political parties a meaningful opportunity to scrutinise the process under appropriate safeguards.

The former vice-president cited the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project as another source of public controversy surrounding major contracts awarded to Hitech under the Tinubu administration. He noted that the government had defended the highway contract as having been awarded through a special procurement process.

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

He extended his concerns to Nigeria’s currency-printing arrangements, saying reports about the production of higher-denomination banknotes by foreign companies raised questions about the protection and use of the country’s security-printing capacity.

He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose current printing allocations and clarify the roles assigned to NSPMC and any foreign contractors.

Warning against electoral malpractice in 2027, Atiku said Nigerians would resist any attempt to subvert their votes through legitimate, 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 INEC officials would be held accountable for their conduct, insisting that the country was watching the commission’s preparations for the elections.

Atiku 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 of election materials.

“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.

“We will insist that the Commission prove, at every stage, that the 2027 election is being prepared fairly and transparently.”

He urged INEC to address the concerns publicly and demonstrate that the preparations for the 2027 general elections would be conducted transparently and without political interference