Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to name the companies printing ballot papers and other sensitive materials for the 2027 general elections. He also wants the commission to explain recent changes to the heads of some of its most important departments. With the presidential and National Assembly polls 96 days away, the ADC presidential candidate said Nigerians should not head into the election without knowing who produces their ballots or how the contracts were awarded.
The demands were contained in a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council. Atiku questioned the redeployment of Isa Magaji Gum from the Electoral Operations Department to the Voter Registry Department, and the appointment of Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi to head Electoral Operations. He also referred to Dr Lawrence Bayode, identified as head of Information and Communication Technology.
“These departments are at the heart of election administration,” Atiku said. He asked INEC to publish the criteria used and show that each appointment followed due process and was free from political interference. The ADC has separately alleged that officers from the North serving in Electoral Operations and ICT in some states were being replaced with officers from Lagos and other South-West states, a claim INEC has not publicly addressed.
The heavier allegations concern printing. Atiku said information available to him suggested that more than half of INEC’s sensitive materials, including presidential ballot assets, may have gone to an undisclosed company believed to be based in France. He also questioned claims that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPMC) would print materials for only 15 to 17 states, leaving private firms with the rest.
He asked INEC to confirm or deny whether Hitech, or any company linked to it, had secured a printing contract. Atiku pointed to publicly reported business ties between the Chagoury family, which owns Hitech, and the Tinubu family, as well as controversy over Hitech’s role on the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. “If neither Hitech nor a company associated with it has been selected, INEC must say so clearly and put the matter beyond doubt,” he said.
None of these claims has been independently confirmed, and Atiku did not name the sources of his information. The commission had not publicly responded to the specific allegations at the time of writing. Hitech has also not commented on any link to election materials.
The scale of the exercise explains why the printing question carries weight. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, put the national register at 103,428,715 voters after a three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise and biometric clean-up. That is about 9.96 million more than the 93,469,008 voters on the 2023 register, a rise of roughly 10.7 per cent. Lagos leads with 7,488,633 voters, followed by Kano with 6,570,276 and Kaduna with 4,662,640.
Every one of those voters will need a ballot at one of 176,846 polling units, where INEC says it will deploy about 1.41 million ad hoc staff, compared with about 1.2 million in 2023. The ballot itself will be crowded. Eighteen of the 22 registered parties have fielded presidential candidates, while 4,408 candidates are contesting 109 Senate and 360 House of Representatives seats.
The timetable is tight. The presidential and National Assembly elections hold on January 16, 2027, followed by governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls on February 6, under a calendar revised after the Electoral Act 2026 replaced the 2022 law. The voters’ register is on public display from October 9 to 15, and INEC expects to present the final register to political parties on December 15.
Atiku extended his call to the Central Bank of Nigeria, asking it to disclose its banknote printing allocations and explain the roles of NSPMC and any foreign contractors. He urged INEC to make full use of domestic security printing capacity and to protect every ballot paper and result sheet through a transparent chain of custody.
He closed with a warning. “Let there be no mistake: Nigerians will not accept a stolen election,” Atiku said, adding that any attempt to rig the polls would be resisted through the ballot, lawful civic action and other democratic channels. He said the ADC would monitor INEC’s preparations and alert domestic and international observers to any lack of transparency.
Amupitan has said that the credibility of the 2027 elections will rest on transparent election management and effective civil society oversight. Whether the commission will publish the names, values and procurement methods of its printing contracts, as Atiku has demanded, is the next point to watch as the election draws nearer.