KEY POINTS

• PDP’s Ini Ememobong demanded a probe into reports that a Tinubu cabinet minister offered land and cash to senior INEC officials, calling the alleged pattern a “land-for-favour” strategy of institutional capture
• The party questioned why election officials apparently received preferential treatment while healthcare, education and security workers received no comparable benefits
• PDP demanded INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan personally address the allegations, noting that media reports named him as one of the alleged recipients

The Peoples Democratic Party called Tuesday for a formal investigation into reports that a minister in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet offered INEC land gifts and cash to senior officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, warning that the allegations threaten public confidence in the electoral body.

PDP factional National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong issued a statement describing the reports, which circulated last week, as “very disturbing” and said they raised questions about INEC’s independence at a politically sensitive moment ahead of 2027. Ememobong said the news seems to connect the dots in the land-for-favour scenario people currently widely speculate as the minister’s strategy for institutional capture.

PDP questions why INEC staff received gifts others did not

Indeed, the party pressed INEC to explain why the alleged benefits apparently flowed to election officials rather than workers in healthcare, education and security, who face comparable professional demands without comparable rewards.

Moreover, the PDP called on INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan to personally address the allegations, noting that media reports named him as one of the alleged recipients of the INEC land gifts. The statement read: ‘We demand that the national chairman of INEC come clean on these allegations against his top officials, and even himself, as he has also been alleged to be a beneficiary.’

INEC urged to demonstrate independence ahead of 2027

Still, PDP warned that leaving the matter unresolved could further erode confidence in the commission and urged swift, transparent action from the electoral body.

“The commission must strive to be, like Caesar’s wife, above board, and ensure that transparency and impartiality are not just watchwords but are obvious in both its words and actions,” Ememobong said.

The party did not name the minister involved. However, it characterized the alleged pattern as a deliberate attempt to compromise electoral institutions before the 2027 election cycle. INEC did not immediately respond to the allegations.