Serving two masters: Why agency chiefs must exit Tinubu's campaign councils by Ademola Akinnola - Commentary@ITREALMS

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done something that should worry every Nigerian, whether you support him or not. He has taken two of the most sensitive public offices in this country and turned them into branches of his re-election campaign.

Let me be plain about what I mean.

Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote is the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). This agency holds the fingerprints, photographs, addresses, and personal records of over 136 million Nigerians. It is a goldmine of sensitive data.

Now, this same woman has been named Director of Data Management for the APC Presidential Campaign Council. Data management for what, exactly? Campaign data? Voter profiling? How do we know our national identity database is not being mined for political gain?  

The head of the agency that should protect every Nigerian's privacy is now wearing two hats —  one for the nation, and one for the APC. That is a conflict of interest so loud you can hear it from Abuja to Lagos.

Then comes Zacheus Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). This is the man who collects taxes from your salary, your business, and your daily transactions. He controls the purse strings of national revenue.

Yet, he has been appointed Deputy Director of Fundraising for Tinubu's campaign. Let that sink in. The tax collector is now the campaign fundraiser. The same office that demands money from Nigerians in the name of national development is now raising money to keep one man in power. Where does public money end and campaign money begin? On simple morality, this is rotten.

Both of these officials were appointed by President Tinubu. Now he has dragged them into his campaign structure. What lesson is the President teaching the country? That loyalty to him matters more than duty to Nigeria? That once you get a government appointment, you must repay it with political service?

Some will argue that previous presidents did the same. But a bad practice does not become good simply because it has happened before. We are talking about NIMC and FIRS — not some moribund ministry. These agencies touch the lives of every single Nigerian. They should be neutral zones, not party extensions.

If this trend continues, what is next? Will the CBN Governor be named to the campaign council too? Then we will finally have the full picture — identity data, tax revenue, and the national treasury, all lined up to serve one political ambition. Then we can all stop pretending and just accept that our taxes are being used to fund a re-election bid.

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What is not good is not good. There is no sugar-coating it.

I am not asking President Tinubu to stop campaigning. Every president has the right to seek a second term. But he must draw a line between the government he runs and the party he leads. He cannot turn civil servants into campaign staff. He cannot turn national agencies into party machinery.

Dr. Coker-Odusote and Mr. Adedeji should step down from that campaign council immediately. If they cannot separate their public duty from their political loyalty, then they should resign from government. You cannot serve the people and serve a campaign at the same time — not when the tools of your office are now campaign assets.

Nigerians deserve better. Our data deserves protection. Our taxes deserve respect. And our democracy deserves leaders who know the difference between governing and campaigning.


Contributed by Otunba Ademola Akinnola, Public Affairs Commentator & Advocate for Good Governance 📞 08067526682