The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received a petition demanding the immediate removal of Jigawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Muhammad Lawal Bashar, and three electoral officers over alleged partisanship and misconduct.
TIMES OF NIGERIA collected from the petition, signed by Umar Danjani Hadejia, deputy state chairman of the PDP, that Bashar had violated the Electoral Act by actively participating in politics and contesting the governorship primaries in Sokoto State as a member of the APC.
Citing Section 156(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution and the INEC Act, the petition said: “His political past disqualifies him outright.”
It further accused INEC of ignoring complaints lodged since 2022, warning that Jigawa residents had lost confidence in his neutrality ahead of the 2027 elections.
The petition also named three local electoral officers – Muhammad Ado Gwaram (Taura LGA), Awwalu Jibrin (Garki LGA), and Hafiz Khalil (Babura LGA) – alleging electoral fraud, partisan ties, and violations of INEC’s staff rotation policy.
Hadejia warned that unless Bashar was removed, his role in conducting the 2027 polls in Jigawa would not be accepted.
“This is not a personal interest but a defence of democracy, justice, and the rule of law,” he wrote.
Efforts by Arewa PUNCH to obtain Bashar’s response were unsuccessful, as he repeatedly declined to comment when approached in Dutse, the state capital.
