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Reps Probe INEC Over Implementation Of Electoral Act

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House of Representatives is to probe the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the implementation of the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the process in the ongoing voter’s registration exercise.

It also resolved to probe alleged constraints encountered by the commission on timely procurement and production of voter’s cards for the 2023 general election.

The Green chamber is also to interrogate the voting process from accreditation to transmission of results, so as to “ascertain the existence of a central INEC server, the transmission of results from polling units, the existence of e-collation officers and the ability to manipulate voting results at that level, ability or not to manipulate the BVAS machine.”

This followed the adoption of a motion by Mark Gbillah calling for an investigation into “the accountability of INEC electoral process, including its Interpretation and Implementation of the Electoral Act, 2022.”

Consequently, the House mandated its Committee on Electoral Matters to undertake the probe and report back in eight weeks for further legislative actions.

The committee in the course of its assignment is expected to ascertain a proper interpretation of Section 115(d) and other provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act by the electoral body and its key officials.

It is also to determine whether or not any infraction had been committed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) in charge of Akwa Ibom State, and any other INEC staff in their interpretation of the Electoral Act.

The committee is equally expected to probe “existing due process in decision making by INEC with regards to guidelines, regulations and whether any of such decisions conflict with the provisions of the Act.”

Gbillah, in his motion, said there were concerns about alleged short comings in the conduct of the recent off-season elections in Ekiti and Osun states.

The lawmaker said there were fears about the ability of the commission “to conduct free and fair elections in the forthcoming 2023 elections when voting will be required to take place simultaneously across the country.”

He said some of the concerns include: “INEC insistence on terminating the ongoing voters registration exercise regardless of the millions of Nigerians who will be disenfranchised citing the need to produce voters cards on time; allegations that results from polling units are not actually transmitted directly to INEC’S central server in Abuja as claimed by INEC but are collated on computer’s bye-collation officers at the ward levels across the country, who are the ones who transmit the results from their systems to the central server and are able to manipulate the votes cast for each candidate at that level but not the number of accredited voters.

“Other concerns about INEC lack of entrenched due process in decision making which sees it make and change guidelines and regulations arbitrarily to the benefit of certain political parties and sometimes in conflict with provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.”

 

 

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Nasarawa Varsity Student Commits Suicide

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A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

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Ogun, Nike Art Gallery Set To Transform Olumo Rock

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The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.

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CBEX Resumes Operations Despite SEC Ban, N1.2trn EFCC Probe

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Despite the alleged N1.2 trillion digital trading fraud that reportedly affected over 600,000 Nigerians, the embattled Crypto Bridge Exchange trading platform, accused of these acts, has resumed operations, announcing fresh withdrawal options in a move to restore investor confidence.
Two traders on the CBEX platform confirmed to The Tide’s source that the digital trading firm has quietly resumed operations, allowing new users to register, trade, and withdraw profits, despite ongoing investigations by regulatory agencies.
According to the sources, an insurance verification process and an external audit of the company’s financial records are currently underway to ascertain the actual amount lost in the scheme, which collapsed in April.
They added that existing investors, many of whom have been unable to access their funds for weeks, will be able to take out their funds starting from June 25, 2025, when the audit is expected to be concluded by an insurance firm based in the United Kingdom.
This development comes barely weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission declared the platform illegal, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission confirmed an ongoing investigation into the firm’s operations.
CBEX, a digital investment platform, offered investors 100 per cent profit after 30 days of purported AI trading. The trading platform started operations in 2024 after receiving registration approval from the Corporate Affairs Commission on September 25, 2024, and the EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering on January 16, 2025.
No fewer than 600,000 Nigerians reportedly invested in the scheme and lost N1.2tn after it collapsed on April 14, 2025.
Miffed by the development, the EFCC declared eight persons wanted for promoting the programme. They include Johnson Oteno, Israel Mbaluka, Joseph Michiro, Serah Michiro, Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede.

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