By Martin Ekpeke
Many Nigerians have expressed concerns and reacted angrily following the appointment of Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as Director of Data Management for the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 Presidential Campaign Council.
These Nigerians, who took to X (formerly Twitter), argued that the appointment is a display of lack of respect for the country’s institutions, stressing that it raised a serious institutional question and asked the government to explain how it squares with public trust.
Adding to the list announced by President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, is Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), to serve as her deputy in the same campaign directorate.
The appointments have sparked immediate pushback across digital platforms and civil society circles, with many raising critical questions about institutional integrity, public trust and data privacy rights.
Citizens and technology analysts taking to X (formerly Twitter) argue that appointing the heads of Nigeria’s foremost identity and IT regulatory agencies to a partisan campaign team creates an unacceptable conflict of interest.
As the chief executive of NIMC, Coker-Odusote oversees the central database containing the biometrics, National Identification Numbers (NIN), and personal details of over 120 million Nigerians. Critics assert that placing the custodian of citizen data at the helm of a political party’s data engine blurs the boundary between public governance and partisan campaign strategy.
Prominent public voices on social media expressed deep concern over potential data exposure and the erosion of administrative neutrality:
“The director of data management of the APC presidential campaign council is Dr. Bisoye Coker, who is the DG of NIMC. Our entire data is at the disposal of the APC. It has never been this bad & brazen. Tinubu has blurred the line between governance and politics. We must reject this.” @Galadima_Samaru
“It’s a joke that Directors-General, who should ordinarily be professional, politically impartial administrative heads of government institutions, are being listed as members of the President’s campaign groups. Ministers are politicians, so their involvement is understandable. But career officials serving as DGs or Permanent Secretaries should never be part of political campaign structures for any reason. Their loyalty should be to the institution and the public, not a political party.” @skood009
“Imagine that you get to your polling unit, and BVAS fails to accredit you cos NIMC provided APC/INEC with your details to allocate votes to APC on your behalf. Millions will be disenfranchised; APC will steal by hook and crook.” @Whyiize1
“And the DG National Information Technology Development Agency is a Deputy in data Mgt at the APC campaign council. We are compromised by this Government.” @khalil102871
“This is abominable. Information that should be ring-fenced and secured, now placed in the hands of an overtly partisan individual, is a gargantuan risk!” @soibih
“Wow! These APC officials should be prosecuted once they are defeated in 2027. This is totally unacceptable! National data is now available for APC manipulation.” @WOyetunde
“You can see the real reason they’ve all insisted that everyone should register for the national ID card. The rigging in 2027 eh…….? It would be so brazen that we won’t be able to talk.” @Nexyterix
“All the major Heads of our ministries, they will use the resources of this nation to campaign for only 1 man.” @JoeJune8
Many Nigerians also point out that the appointments risk undermining compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA). By law, data collected by government agencies like NIMC and NITDA is strictly restricted to authorized public administration, national security, and civil identification purposes.
Using or sharing access to state infrastructure, analytical algorithms, or citizen databases for political campaigning exposes the government to claims of data misuse and regulatory breach.
Civil rights groups are urging the Federal Government and the APC leadership to reconsider the appointments to safeguard institutional neutrality and restore public confidence ahead of the upcoming electoral cycle.