Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has called out the federal government led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for actively putting in place what he believes to be foolproof and earliest election manipulative methods by appointing notorious card carrying members of his political family into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and forcing PDP sitting governors to crosscarpet to APC as another trick to enhance the rigging of the year 2027 general elections.

“We are aware of a faultless intelligence that revealed to us that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is perfecting the procedural manipulation of the general election in the year 2027 by putting in place what he thought are a smart set of systems and manipulative processes to effectively gain absolute control and command of the election management body by picking well known APC loyalists as National Commissioners and compelling second term seeking PDP serving governors to enlist in APC as decoys for writing the results of the elections in their jurisdictions.

“The rights group is therefore alerting Nigerians to these schemes with the hope that the organised civil society organizations can put measures in place to expose these apparent well-contrived and well-funded election manipulation procedures of the ruling APC.

The National Chairman of APC has openly boasted that his political party will win over two thirds of the States of the Federation and keep a commanding control and leadership of the National Assembly. By illegally staging and regime change in Rivers state and unconstitutionally suspending the governor Siminialayi Fubara so as to force him into a sudden surrender, is a well-coordinated strategy by APC to rig the result of the 2027 election in Rivers state even before the first ballot is cast.

“These public outbursts of the handpicked National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress that more PDP Governors and law makers would move into APC soon is not a fluke but a revelation of the inner workings of the National ruling party and their electoral strategy for 2027. The APC is plotting to establish a China-styled communist one party state in Nigeria. The blueprint for turning Nigeria into an authoritarianism is already being systematically enforced by the APC.

The rights group alluded to the assertion by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) of the massive infiltration of the Election management body by members of the All Progressives Congress just as it has called on President Bola Tinubu to review his appointment of several Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) accused of being members of the ruling APC.

HURIWA recalled that SERAP has even urged the president to replace them with individuals of proven integrity and no political affiliations, in line with constitutional requirements.

In a letter dated June 7, 2025, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation warned that the presence of alleged partisan figures in INEC could damage the credibility of the upcoming 2027 general elections.

It cited the nominations and subsequent Senate confirmations of Etekamba Umoren (Akwa Ibom), Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Bunmi Omoseyindemi (Lagos), and Anugbum Onuoha (Rivers), all appointed in October 2023, as a cause for concern.

“Public perception of the independence of INEC is essential for building confidence in the electoral process,” SERAP stated.

“Where Nigerians have doubts about INEC’s neutrality, they are more likely to lose trust in the electoral system, thereby undermining democracy.”

HURIWA recalled that SERAP called on President Tinubu to use his office to nominate individuals who are non-partisan and meet the constitutional criteria for INEC appointments. It also asked the president to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to draft a bill for submission to the National Assembly that would enhance the electoral commission’s independence.

The group cited several constitutional and legal provisions to support its appeal. These include Section 156(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that INEC officials must not belong to political parties, and Paragraph 14 of the Third Schedule, which mandates that RECs be non-partisan and of unquestionable integrity.

“The credibility and legitimacy of elections depend largely on the independence and impartiality of those appointed to manage the process,” the letter read. “Without these safeguards, the democratic rights of Nigerians remain illusory.”

HURIWA affirmed that SERAP also rightly referenced Nigeria’s obligations under international frameworks such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Both stress the importance of having independent and impartial electoral bodies.

HURIWA reflected similar strong sentiments and absolutely condemned “the plot by the APC-led federal government to compromise the 2027 general elections.” The rights group also criticised the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “for obviously deciding to bequeath to the nation the legacies of heavily compromised election management systems” just as HURIWA condemned the National Assembly “for playing politics with a set of suggested electoral reforms which if legislated into laws of Nigeria could change the notorious narratives of constant manipulation and mismanagement of the general elections in Nigeria.”

According to HUIWA, “INEC under Yakubu Mahmud has become the playfield of Tinubu’s APC. HURIWA condemns the APC for also actively financing the internal schism in Labour Party and PDP so as to disorganise and create unresolvable conflicts for political opposition and weaken the opposition structures.”

HURIWA also described the choreographed defection into All Progressives Congress of PDP serving governors and National Assembly members as another angle of the larger conspiratorial agenda aimed at manipulation of the next general elections by the All Progressives Congress just as the Rights group carpeted all those governors who shamelessly betrayed the voters and their party by jumping ship into the APC to actively work in conjunction with the APC hierarchy to achieve the plot to rig the 2027 general elections in favour of President Tinubu and his political party that has gained total control of the INEC.

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State it would be recalled had officially announced his defection from PDP to APC.

Speaking on Friday in Uyo, the state capital, Eno said the decision followed three months of extensive consultations with key political stakeholders across the state.

“For some time now, the political space—particularly in this state and across the nation—has been filled with speculation about my potential defection from the PDP, the platform that facilitated my rise to the position of governor,” he stated.

“This conversation has generated diverse opinions. Today, I am here to address those lingering questions. As the Dalai Lama once said, ‘We should always be open to change, but not let go of our shared values.’”

Governor Eno confirmed that he has submitted his formal resignation from the PDP to his ward chairman, with copies also delivered to the party’s state and national leadership.

“Earlier this morning, I submitted a formal letter of resignation to the ward chairman of the PDP. Copies were also sent to both the state and national chairmen,” he said. “I want to thank the PDP for their support, their love, and the opportunity to serve Akwa Ibom under their banner over the past two years.”

HURIWA described the defectors as shameless political traitors who simply think politics is all about winning elections and staying in power in perpetuity just as it said this political prostitution has shown that leadership in Nigeria lacks principles but has become anything goes.

“We call on Nigerians to denounce these political lepers and defectors and vote them out in the year 2027 poll.

HURIWA however thinks that Nigerians must be vigilant and resist the plots by APC to whitewash and rig the 2027 polls. “The people of Nigeria must speak out in renunciation and condemnation of these thieving tactics being actively put in place by the APC, president Tinubu and the selected leaders of APC to manipulate the next general elections in their satanic bid to win a second term by all crooked means for president Tinubu. Eternal vigilance is our price of liberty in Nigeria.”