Politics
2023 Elections: Foreign Observers Express Concerns Over INEC’s Readiness
Some international election observers have expressed concern over the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) technology to perform optimally in the 2023 General Elections.
The joint delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), raised the concern on Friday while addressing a press conference in Abuja.
The five-member delegation comprises the Secretary of State for Ohio, Frank LaRose; a former Minority Leader of the Sierra Leone Parliament, Bernadette Lahai; a former Director of Elections, Registration and Demarcation at the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Albert Kofi-Arhin; a Regional Director of NDI, Christopher Fomunyoh and Jenai Cox, Regional Deputy Director for Africa at IRI.
Members of the delegation took turns to read sections of the joint statement of their first pre-election assessment mission in Nigeria to journalists expressed concerns over whether the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will perform at the same level as witnessed in the recent governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun “when scaled up for the national elections.”
While noting other concerns to be addressed ahead of the 2023 polls, the delegation said the elimination of voting points by INEC has aided the transparency of results but has also posed a new challenge for the electorates.
“Instead of transitioning the previous voting points into new polling units, INEC has largely established the new polling units in new locations. Recognizing that moving voters to a new location presents a challenge, INEC has plans only to include new voters or voters who choose to transfer their registration at these new polling units. This approach is unlikely to address the anomaly of overcrowding in existing polling units,” a member of the delegation, Ms Lahai, noted.
She said there is a need to further reduce access to polling units so as to reduce conditions for nefarious behaviours during the voting exercise.
She also highlighted inter-party disputes, insecurity, high nomination fees by political parties, election violence and low representation of women in positions of power among the issues Nigeria needs to address before the 2023 election.
In its recommendations read by Ms Cox, the NDI/IRI delegation called for timely disbursement of funding for INEC, so they can play their role in the election cycle without fear or favour.
The delegation also advised INEC to capitalise on the excitement of Nigerians from the just concluded governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States and extend the period for voter registration.
“INEC should publish disaggregated data on registered persons with disabilities (PWDs) before elections and invest in collecting data to map the location and type of assistance needed for PWDs, and audit polling unit layouts to ensure compliance with the INEC polling unit schematic,” Ms Cox said.
The delegation also urged the commission to seize the renewed interest of Nigerians in the electoral process to engage them on issues that matter to them.
It said the country, for the first time since 2007, may witness an open contest in the coming presidential poll.
Politics
Why I Won’t Help Tinubu’s Govt Overcome Economic Challenges – Sanusi
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
Politics
Reps Loses Deputy Chief Whip
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Politics
Aiyedatiwa Dissolves Cabinet, Retains Finance Commissioner, Attorney-General
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.
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