In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the association questioned the reported appointment of Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi as head of INEC’s Electoral Operations Department, citing concerns over her husband’s political affiliations.
HURIWA referenced reports that Otunba Segun Showunmi, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, had publicly expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid. However, the association clarified that it was not declaring Adeyemi-Showunmi compromised because of her husband’s political associations, but insisted that INEC must address any perception of a conflict of interest.
The group also questioned the reported redeployment of Isah Magaji Gummi, the former Director of Electoral Operations, to the Voter Registry Department, as well as reports that Dr Lawrence Bayode was heading the commission’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department.
“HURIWA finds these reported redeployments ominous and suspicious. INEC must not allow unanswered questions about its internal arrangements to erode Nigerians’ confidence in the 2027 elections,” the statement said.
The association urged Amupitan to explain why Gummi was moved from Electoral Operations, disclose the criteria used in assigning Adeyemi-Showunmi to the department and clarify the safeguards against political considerations influencing appointments to sensitive positions.
It stressed that the Electoral Operations Department oversees critical aspects of elections, including the distribution of election materials, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff, polling arrangements and supervision of collation processes.
HURIWA similarly underscored the importance of the ICT Department in modern election administration, arguing that transparency in the leadership and management of both departments was essential to maintaining public trust.
The association warned that the reported redeployments could fuel suspicions of political interference unless INEC demonstrated that competence, due process and institutional independence guided its decisions.
It called on the commission to explain the safeguards protecting sensitive election materials, polling operations and technology-driven electoral processes from political influence, urging it to address the concerns before political activities intensify.
HURIWA also backed former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s call for INEC to clarify the reported redeployments and disclose its arrangements for the production, printing and custody of sensitive election materials.
Atiku had urged the commission to publish the criteria guiding appointments and redeployments and demonstrate that such decisions were based on merit and due process rather than political considerations. He also cautioned against assuming that any official was compromised because of ethnicity, regional origin or personal associations.
Aligning with the need for caution, HURIWA said stakeholders must distinguish between legitimate concerns about institutional neutrality and unproven allegations of electoral manipulation.
It nevertheless maintained that INEC had a responsibility to provide verifiable answers to prevent avoidable suspicions from weakening confidence in the electoral process.
The association urged opposition parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to pursue demands for transparency through lawful and democratic means, while calling on Amupitan to demonstrate that the commission operated independently of the Presidency, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political interests.
“INEC must come clean. Nigerians deserve an electoral commission that inspires confidence through its decisions and actions. Professor Amupitan must explain these reported redeployments and demonstrate that no political interest can influence the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections,” HURIWA said.
The association added that although allegations of political interference required verifiable evidence, INEC should not regard demands for transparency as an attack on its leadership.
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