The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is facing questions over reported changes at the head of two departments central to election administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Information obtained by SaharaReporters from an insider within the Commission indicates that Isah Magaji Gummi, who served as Director of Electoral Operations, has been redeployed to the Voter Registry Department.
In his place, Mrs. Oluyemi Adeyemi-Showunmi, formerly the Administrative Secretary of INEC’s Lagos office, has reportedly been deployed to the Commission’s headquarters to oversee Electoral Operations. Another official from the South-West—the region President Bola Tinubu hails from—leads the commission’s ICT department.
According to the *INEC Manual for Election Officials (2023 Edition)*, the Electoral Operations Department is the central unit responsible for planning, organizing, and supervising the conduct of elections across Nigeria.
Its mandate covers every stage of the electoral process, from the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, such as ballot papers and voter registers, to the management of polling units and the training of election officials.
The department ensures that polling stations are properly set up, accessible to all voters, and compliant with electoral procedures, while also providing guidance for the inclusion of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Electoral Operations oversees the recruitment and training of ad hoc staff, including corps members and civil servants, ensuring they are adequately prepared to uphold electoral laws and procedures.
It also supervises collation and returning officers at ward, local government, state, and national levels, guaranteeing that votes are accurately tabulated, results transparently declared, and election data securely transmitted. In addition, the department enforces INEC’s code of conduct, monitors election-day activities, and works closely with political parties, observers, and security agencies to safeguard the credibility of the process.
At the national level, the Director of Electoral Operations coordinates activities across the country, while Resident Electoral Commissioners manage operations within each state. Electoral Officers oversee logistics at the local government level, and presiding officers at polling units directly conduct voting and interact with voters.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters learned that the changes have raised questions among those concerned about the management of the electoral process, particularly regarding the rationale for moving Gummi from his previous position and assigning Adeyemi-Showunmi responsibility for the department.
### Questions Over Political Connections
Further questions have been raised about the potential perception of political influence arising from the reported appointment.
Adeyemi-Showunmi’s husband, Otunba Segun Showunmi, is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and convener of The Alternative. He has also publicly expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
The concerns carry particular weight because President Tinubu, a former Lagos governor from the South-West, will seek re-election in the 2027 general election, making public confidence in the independence of the electoral umpire a central issue.
An insider who raised concerns about the changes told SaharaReporters that INEC needs to explain the rationale behind the redeployments and address questions about the concentration of responsibilities in strategically important departments.
The source maintained that public confidence in the electoral process depends not only on the conduct of voting and the declaration of results but also on the credibility and transparency of the administrative decisions that precede an election.
### ICT Department Also Under Scrutiny
The concerns extend to INEC’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department, which is headed by Dr. Lawrence Bayode, identified in the information obtained by SaharaReporters as an official from the South-West.
The ICT department is a vital component of the Commission’s electoral infrastructure, particularly in an environment where technology plays a major role in voter registration, accreditation, results management, and other administrative processes.
The reported leadership configuration of the Electoral Operations and ICT departments has prompted questions about regional representation in positions considered critical to election administration.
Those raising the concerns argue that INEC should be able to demonstrate that appointments to these departments reflect professional competence, transparent administrative procedures, and institutional independence.
They also contend that the Commission should address any reasonable concerns about the appearance of political or regional concentration in its leadership structure before the 2027 elections.
“The ICT Department, another critical component of the electoral infrastructure, is headed by a southwestern staff member, Dr. Lawrence Bayode. The leadership configuration of these departments raises questions about the distribution of strategic responsibilities and the need for transparent, politically neutral personnel decisions,” a source within the commission said.
### Amupitan Under Pressure To Protect INEC’s Independence
As chairman of INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan is responsible for leading an institution whose credibility is central to Nigeria’s democratic process.
The concerns surrounding the reported redeployments come as political parties and other stakeholders prepare for the 2027 general elections, when INEC will again be expected to demonstrate its independence from the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sources who spoke about the reported changes argued that the Commission should not wait until the election period to address questions about the neutrality of its internal administrative arrangements.
They said that allowing unresolved concerns to persist could fuel suspicion among opposition parties and members of the public, even in the absence of evidence that the appointments were made for partisan purposes.
One source argued that the credibility of the 2027 election must take precedence over the continued tenure of the INEC chairman, adding that Amupitan should consider resigning if he cannot adequately address the concerns surrounding the Commission’s administration.
“Professor Joash Amupitan must realise that the credibility of the 2027 general election takes precedence over his continued tenure, or resign now,” the source said.
“Professor Amupitan, as INEC chairman, must recognise that the commission’s constitutional responsibility is to administer elections impartially, independently of the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). These curious deployments appear to confirm the allegation that the APC intends to position some personnel in strategic departments to facilitate electoral manipulation in 2027.”
The source also urged opposition political parties and civil society organisations to seek clarification from INEC regarding the redeployments and demand assurances that electoral operations and ICT functions would remain insulated from partisan interference.
### Questions INEC Needs To Address
The reported changes raise several questions that INEC could address to reassure the public ahead of the next general elections.
These include the administrative reasons for Gummi’s reported redeployment, the criteria used to appoint Adeyemi-Showunmi to oversee Electoral Operations, and the safeguards INEC applies when assigning officials to sensitive departments.
The Commission could also clarify its procedures for managing potential conflicts of interest and explain how it ensures that political affiliations or public endorsements by relatives of officials do not influence electoral administration.
Such clarification would help distinguish routine personnel management from decisions that could reasonably generate concerns about institutional neutrality.
However, with the 2027 elections approaching, the questions raised by the reported changes place a premium on transparency, clear administrative explanations, and demonstrable safeguards for INEC’s independence.
In a related development, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately and fully disclose details of reported changes in key departments, as well as arrangements for the production, printing, and custody of sensitive materials ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku made the demand in a statement issued on Sunday, October 11, 2026, by his Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu. He urged the commission to address concerns surrounding appointments, redeployments, and contracts for the production of sensitive election materials.
According to the statement, reported changes in INEC’s Electoral Operations Department had raised questions about the commission’s impartiality and the procedures governing appointments to critical positions.
The statement identified Director Isa Magaji Gummi as having been moved from the Electoral Operations Department to the Voter Registry Department, while Mrs. Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi was reportedly appointed to head Electoral Operations. Dr. Lawrence Bayode was also identified as the head of the Information and Communication Technology Department.
Atiku called on INEC to explain the reasons for the changes, disclose the criteria used in making the appointments and redeployments, and demonstrate that the decisions were based on merit, followed due process, 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,” he said.
He, however, cautioned against presuming that any official was compromised because of their ethnicity, background, or associations, while insisting that INEC should provide verifiable assurances where reported political connections or appointment patterns raised public concerns.
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