Politics
INEC Repositions For Future Challenges
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Monday said it has started repositioning and repackaging for electoral challenges ahead.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, said this at a four-day workshop on media monitoring for some INEC publicity officers in Abuja.
Okoye said that the commission was presently harnessing the lessons from the 2019 general election and harvesting positive recommendations aimed at improving subsequent elections.
He assured Nigerians that the commission would continue to improve on its processes and procedures.
Okoye assured the various stakeholders in the electoral process that the Commission would study and analyse all the recommendations made and positively implement them.
Speaking on the workshop, the national commissioner said its aimed at increasing understanding of INEC public officers of new issues, challenges and possibilities in the media.
Okoye added that it was also aimed at how to harness such possibilities and arrest negative perception relating to the work of the commission and build a positive image for INEC.
He said that part of the challenges faced by the commission during the 2019 general elections revolves around information management and strategic communication as well as managing public perception around the processes and procedures of the Commission.
According to him, while the commission had consistently tried its best to provide information to the media it demanded that the spokespersons for the Commission be conversant with the happening in the Commission.
The INEC national commissioner, however, commended the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) for the Media Monitoring Center it donated to the Commission.
He assured INEC partners that the Commission would make good use of the facilities at the media center to promote and enhance its image.
Okoye said that the training would equip and empower the participants with modern skills of monitoring the activities of the media, to keep the commission abreast of issues as they break or begin to trend especially on the social media.
He said that the establishment of a media monitoring center within the Commission was a step in the right direction.
Okoye urged the participants of the workshop to read widely and keep abreast of happenings in the social media.
“The Commission must study and understand the thinking of young people who constitute over 50 per cent of the registered voting population in Nigeria and what keeps them away from the polling units.
“Young persons are very active on the social media and yet have not succeeded in influencing in a significant way the pattern of voting in Nigeria.
“It is a matter of common knowledge that a large proportion of the young people are exceedingly active on the social media and take active part in debates around elections and the electoral process.
“It is our responsibility to understudy and understand the direction and perspectives of young people in relation to the electoral process and why they are very active in the social media and inactive in the voting process,” he said.
On his part, Coordination, Advisor/Electoral Administration Expert, ECES, Mr Manji Wilson, said the media monitoring centre was established for INEC following the recommendations of the European Union Observation Mission to Nigeria, 2015 and 2019.
Wilson said that ECES had procured, delivered and was currently installing hardware and software that would in a few days metamorphose into the National Media Monitoring Centre at the INEC headquarters, Annex.
“The skills and expertise you acquire from this workshop will be crucial to strengthening this center.
“Further support will be considered in due course to expand the scope of ECES interventions to the INEC Media monitoring set-up, beyond Headquarters.
Manji said that ECES was committed to strengthening and deepening the democratic process in Nigeria through the implementation of the EU-SDGN programme- Component 1.
INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said that the participants were drawn from Abuja and INEC offices in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Osaze-Uzzi said the workshop was relevant even after the 2019 general elections, as the commission was preparing for Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.
He said that the training would cover both conventional and social media monitoring.
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has appointed Nigerian music legend, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as TuFace, as his Technical Adviser on Entertainment and Community Outreach.
In a viral video on Wednesday, Governor Alia praised TuFace for all the support towards his administration.
The Governor stated that TuFace can do more.
He stated, “On behalf of the Benue State Government and our very good people, we want to give you some more responsibility plus the ones you have been doing because you have the capacity to do some more and help us chart a way forward to improve other people’s lives and to gain more from your wisdom and advice as well.
“So, I’m pleased to announce that we will make you a Technical Adviser to the Governor on Entertainment and Community Outreach.”
Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made following a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba on Wednesday.
The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, confirmed the development in a telephone conversation with The Tide’s source.
Similarly, the defection of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was announced on Wednesday in Asaba by Senator James Manager, following a meeting that lasted over six hours at the Government House.
Senator Manager said all PDP members in the State, including the Governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, and all local government chairmen, had agreed to join the APC.
“We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat,” he said.
The decision to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed extensive consultations with political stakeholders and was made in the interest of Delta State’s long-term development.
Governor Oborevwori, who won the 2023 gubernatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was received by senior APC officials in what political analysts are already describing as a strategic realignment with far-reaching implications ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria has condemned the recent wave of killings in Plateau, Borno, Benue, Niger State and most recently, Kwara State, calling on the federal and state governments to take urgent steps to stem the tide.
Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Adebo Ogundoyin, stated this in a statement issued in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Rt Hon. Ogundoyin, who is the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, said the gruesome killings had led to tragic loss of lives, widespread displacement, and unimaginable trauma for thousands of Nigerians.
“We are alarmed by the escalating insecurity in the land and the seeming helplessness with which these attacks are met. The time for mere condemnation and rhetoric has passed; urgent and coordinated action is now required at all levels of government to end these bloodbaths and restore peace and order.
“While we acknowledge that defence and national security fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government, we must stress that every level of government bears responsibility for the security and welfare of the people. State governors, in particular, must rise to the occasion and fully understand that governance is not limited to road construction and ceremonial functions. True governance is rooted in the protection of lives, the preservation of order, and the alleviation of suffering,” he said.
He called on state governments to complement the efforts of the Federal Government by making and enforcing enabling laws for community policing and other grassroots-driven security models.
According to him, States must develop proactive frameworks that integrate local intelligence, social support systems, and youth engagement in the fight against insecurity.
The conference also urged the Federal Government to meaningfully engage the citizenry and introduce bold, practical measures to cushion the hardship caused by its current economic policies.
“Millions of Nigerians are groaning under the weight of inflation, unemployment, and a cost-of-living crisis. It is imperative that relief initiatives—targeted, transparent, and impactful—are rolled out without delay. Dialogue, not distance, must define the relationship between the government and its people at this critical time.
“The Conference of Speakers affirms its commitment to supporting all legislative actions necessary to restore security, promote justice, and foster inclusive governance across the country. The killings in Benue, Niger, Plateau, Borno, Kwara, and any part of Nigeria must not be allowed to continue unchecked. Justice must prevail, and peace must be restored.
“Let it be known: the safety, dignity, and well-being of every Nigerian must remain the top priority of all arms and levels of government,” Rt Hon. Ogundoyin said.
-
Business2 days ago
Expert Seeks Cooperative-Driven Investments In Agriculture
-
Politics2 days agoGov Alia Appoints TuFace As Adviser
-
Rivers2 days ago
Man Hacks Reverend Sister To Death In Rivers
-
Editorial2 days ago
Reforming Nigeria’s Prison Crises
-
Politics2 days ago
Leave PDP, Bode George Tells Atiku, Wike
-
News2 days ago
Nigeria Safe For Investment, Edun Assures Investors
-
Featured2 days agoFG Begins Induction For New Permanent Secretaries, Accountant-General
-
Rivers2 days ago
Rivers Judiciary Denies Reports On SOLAD’s Sack