By Our Reporter
The Peter Obi Media Office (POMR) has raised concerns over reports that about 600 university academics have endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr., on September 15, 2026, the media office described the development as “profoundly troubling,” alleging that it could represent an early attempt to establish a network of partisan actors ahead of the election.
According to POMR, the academics’ involvement is particularly significant because university lecturers have historically been appointed to sensitive electoral positions, including returning and collation officers.
The statement argued that the reported endorsement of an incumbent president by academics who could potentially be involved in election administration raises concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
“Electoral rigging does not suddenly occur on election day; it begins months or even years earlier through the identification, cultivation, and placement of individuals capable of influencing the process when votes are finally cast,” the statement said.
POMR urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, arguing that public confidence in the electoral process could be undermined if individuals perceived as partisan are subsequently assigned sensitive election duties.
The organisation called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the names of the academics involved in the reported endorsement and prevent them from serving as returning officers, collation officers or other electoral officials during the 2027 general elections.
It also urged INEC to publish, well ahead of future elections, the names of prospective returning and collation officers to enable political parties, civil society organisations and members of the public to assess their neutrality.
POMR further called on university governing councils and academic bodies to establish stronger conflict-of-interest rules to prevent academic positions from being used for partisan political mobilisation.
The Obi media office maintained that Nigerians should be allowed to freely choose their leaders through a transparent electoral process, insisting that election outcomes should be determined by voters rather than what it described as a “pre-arranged electoral network.”
The statement was signed electronically by Zekeri Jnr. in his capacity as POMR spokesman.