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EU Envoy Visits Peterside …As Jega Charges Election Observers
Head of European Union Delegation to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Ambassador Michel Arrion, has called for violence-free polls across Nigeria. He said the European Union are friends of Nigeria and Nigerians, therefore the regional body is concerned about the forth-coming general elections.
Arrion said this in Port Harcourt during a courtesy call on Dr. Dakuku Peterside, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State.
The envoy who expressed anxiety over increasing tension ahead of March 28 and April 11 elections, called on political actors to play by the rules to avoid violence or anything that is capable of discrediting the elections.
He said, “I just started my visit this morning. This is my first visit to Port Harcourt and I am meeting with the governor and the candidates for the governorship elections. For me, it is an opportunity to discuss with all the candidates and political stakeholders, including civil societies to get a sense of state politics and electoral processes. We also want to see what is going on, not only at state level but also at the federal level.
“I am always raising the same issues with all politicians, primarily the question of violence. We very much unfortunately anticipate violence. As EU, we are friends of Nigeria and Nigerians and we would like to avoid violence by all means. So what kind of prevention, what kind of preparation can we support? That is why we are here”, he added.
Responding, Peterside commended EU for their timely intervention. He said nothing could have been better for Nigerians in this season of election than this violence-free election initiative.
He pledged his commitment to peaceful elections and called on Nigerians to continue to support such initiatives, insisting that credible elections come only where there is no violence and chaos.
He noted that all eyes are on Nigeria, therefore the highest level of conduct is expected from us.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday urged election observers for the upcoming general elections to abide by the guidelines of the exercise.
Jega who made the call at a meeting with accredited domestic and foreign observers for the elections in Abuja. He commended the role of the observers in previous elections, saying that it was crucial because it supported the commission to improve on the country’s electoral process.
He restated that observers’ reports on the 2011 general elections guided the commission in preparing for the upcoming polls.
Jega, however, urged the observers to work only within the functions and powers as clearly spelt out in the electoral process.
According to him, while an election monitor exercises some level of lawful authority over the conduct of elections, “an observer has no such powers’’.
He said“In Nigeria, a monitor must be duly authorised personnel of the INEC; an observer is independent and reports only to his or her organisation. A monitor can issue instructions and take instructions on behalf of INEC and to that extent, would ordinarily possess a greater technical knowledge of the election process than an observer,’’ Jega explained.
The INEC chairman added that the commission had concluded arrangements to enable the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to vote in the elections, adding that the arrangement would ensure that there was a safe place for the IDPs to vote.
According to him, this will apply to IDPs from areas that are worst hit by the insurgency, specifically in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
“The plan is to create voting centres in safe areas,” he added.
A domestic observer, Mr Folarin Olayinka, who is the Chairman, Ogun branch of Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), expressed satisfaction with INEC’s code of conduct for observers for the elections.
Olayinka said that there was no doubt that INEC would conduct elections in the states affected by insurgency in view of the progress made by the military in regaining areas hitherto occupied by the insurgents.
“It is of no doubt as well that we will observe the process and at the appropriate time, we will come out with the outcome to the appropriate authority,’’ he said.
Similarly, Mr Sentell Barnes, Resident Programe Officer (Nigeria) of the International Republican Institute (IRI), said that the meeting served as a good platform for observers to understand their roles during the elections.
He said that the six weeks extension period for the election provided ample opportunity for INEC to get better prepared to conduct the polls.
“It has also given the political parties the time to really move away from campaign rallies and get more focused on issues. “We are at a better time than we were for the February 14 date.“People are ready and hope there will be no violence and will go and express their right to vote,’’ Barnes said.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”