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Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign, has alleged that the redeployment of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official married to an All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign figure could undermine the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
Okonkwo made the allegation during an interview on Arise News while reacting to the redeployment of Oluyemi Titilayo Adeyemi-Showunmi, wife of Segun Showunmi, to head INEC’s Electoral Operations Department.
Segun Showunmi is a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. He previously served as a spokesperson for Atiku, who contested against Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
Oluyemi Adeyemi-Showunmi previously served as INEC’s administrative secretary in Lagos State before her redeployment to the commission’s national headquarters. Her husband has defended the appointment, describing her as a career civil servant who has worked with the electoral body throughout her professional life.
However, Okonkwo questioned the decision to place her in charge of a department responsible for critical aspects of election administration, arguing that her husband’s political involvement raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
“The electoral operations department is involved in the distribution of sensitive material; they recruit, train, and deploy all ad hoc staff on election day; and they coordinate and supervise polling unit and collation unit operations and returning officers during the election,” he said.
He added: “The wife of the deputy spokesperson of the APC campaign handling all these means the election has been rigged before time.”
Showunmi, however, has rejected suggestions that his political activities influenced his wife’s redeployment. He described her as a senior career officer and maintained that the posting was an internal administrative decision.
