The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has demanded the immediate sack of serving Directors-General and Chief Executives of federal government agencies allegedly mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
HURIWA said no serving head of a federal agency should simultaneously hold a public office and operate as a partisan campaigner, warning that such involvement could turn government institutions into instruments of electoral mobilisation.
The demand followed reports that the Forum of Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals had pledged to mobilise 10 million votes for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a statement on Friday, HURIWA National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, described the reported development as a serious conflict-of-interest concern and an indication of the growing politicisation of public institutions.
The rights group warned that agency chiefs involved in campaign activities could have access to public resources, government networks, personnel and institutional platforms that must remain dedicated to their statutory responsibilities.
HURIWA said federal agencies belong to Nigerians and must serve citizens regardless of their political affiliation, ethnicity, religion or ideological persuasion.
The association maintained that officials who wished to participate actively in partisan politics should first relinquish their government appointments.
“Officials who genuinely wish to participate actively in partisan politics should first relinquish their government appointments rather than combine political campaigning with the management of public institutions,” HURIWA said.
The group also raised concerns over a reported complementary campaign structure allegedly being promoted by the agency chiefs, involving grassroots mobilisation, media management, election planning and monitoring.
HURIWA said campaign mobilisation was a political function and should not be added to the responsibilities of serving federal agency heads.
It warned that public funds, official vehicles, government facilities, personnel, institutional databases and other resources attached to public offices must not be deployed for the electoral interests of any political party or candidate.
The association consequently urged Tinubu to remove any serving agency chief who had chosen partisan campaigning over the statutory mandate of his or her institution and appoint qualified technocrats and professionals in their place.
HURIWA also called on the Presidency to draw a clear line between government administration and partisan politics ahead of the 2027 elections, saying public institutions must remain focused on governance, development and service delivery.
