Edu, Olejeme, Adedeji’s inclusion in Tinubu’s 2027 campaign elicits mixed feelings
By Mohammed Ismail
The inclusion of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu; former Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Board chairperson, Ngozi Olejeme; and Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Zacch Adedeji, in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has triggered controversy among Nigerians.
Edu was appointed Director of Women Mobilisation, while Olejeme was named South-South Zonal Director for Election Planning, Coordination and Mobilisation. Adedeji was appointed Deputy Director of Fundraising in the campaign council.
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The appointments have drawn scrutiny largely because of past allegations involving Edu and Olejeme, as well as concerns over Adedeji’s simultaneous role as head of a federal revenue-collection agency.
Edu was suspended as minister in January 2024 following allegations surrounding the approval of N585 million in public funds for transfer into a private bank account. She was subsequently investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), although the outcome of the investigation has not been made public.
Olejeme, meanwhile, has faced several financial-crime allegations. She was arraigned over alleged money laundering involving about N1 billion and had previously been accused by the EFCC of diverting funds belonging to the NSITF during her tenure as board chairperson. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC had also declared Olejeme wanted in 2017 over allegations including criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, diversion of public funds and money laundering involving N69 billion. In 2020, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the interim forfeiture of 48 properties allegedly linked to her.
Lawyers divided
Legal practitioners have offered divergent interpretations of the appointments.
Kano-based lawyer, Barrister Umar Usman Danbaito, said although there was no legal prohibition against appointing Edu to the campaign council, her inclusion raised ethical and moral concerns because of the allegations against her.
He argued that appointing people facing corruption allegations to prominent positions in a presidential campaign could send negative signals to voters and undermine public confidence.
Danbaito was particularly critical of Adedeji’s appointment as deputy director of fundraising, arguing that a serving official responsible for generating revenue for the country should not simultaneously be involved in raising funds for a political campaign.
According to him, such an arrangement could create doubts over the possibility of public resources being channelled into partisan activities.
However, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kunle Kalejaye, defended the appointments, invoking the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence.
Kalejaye argued that allegations should not be treated as proof of guilt and maintained that he was unaware of any constitutional provision disqualifying Edu from participating in the campaign structure.
He also defended Adedeji, questioning why his position as NRS chairman should automatically prevent him from accepting a political assignment from his party.
Kalejaye challenged critics to identify the specific legal or constitutional provisions that barred either official from serving on the campaign council.
Another SAN, Taiye Oniyide, took a more cautious position, saying Adedeji’s involvement created an uncomfortable perception because of his responsibility for generating revenue for the federal government.
Although he said he could not identify a specific law expressly prohibiting the appointment, Oniyide maintained that the arrangement raised important questions of morality, public policy and public confidence.
He said the involvement of serving public officials in partisan activities could also create perceptions that their political loyalty might later be rewarded with government appointments.
‘No law prohibits campaign appointments’
Another SAN, Mumini Jimoh, disagreed with the criticism, saying President Tinubu was entitled to select individuals he believed could deliver his political objectives.
Jimoh stressed that membership of a campaign council was different from holding a statutory government position, noting that the affected individuals had not been appointed ministers, permanent secretaries or heads of government agencies through their campaign roles.
He said the key issue should be whether any public official used his or her official position to divert public resources into the campaign.
According to him, any evidence of such conduct could be investigated by anti-corruption agencies.
Meanwhile, the APC Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, could not be reached for comment, while the campaign council’s spokesman, Dele Alake, also did not respond to inquiries.
A member of the campaign’s Media and Strategic Communication team said the council had not yet been formally inaugurated and that officials were therefore not in a position to speak extensively on the appointments.
