Wike's cousin assumes office as INEC commissioner in Akwa Ibom

A blood relative of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike — a partisan APC operator — was sworn in as INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom, a state Wike has openly worked to flip from PDP. Lead with the conflict-of-interest: the man certifying election results in 2027 is family to the politician who wants those results to go a particular way. Tinubu nominated him, the Senate confirmed him. The angle: how Nigeria's electoral umpire is being staffed in the run-up to 2027, and why civic groups are calling this an appointment that violates INEC's constitutional independence.