General
Femi Gbajabiamila, Blessing to Nigeria—Lagos ÁPC Leader
An All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in Lagos State, Mr Adedoyin Adeyinka, has described the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, as a blessing to the country, urging Nigerians to support him to become Speaker in June.
Mr Adeyinka, who spoke on Monday at the 2019 Alaka Children’s Day Celebration in Lagos, praised the member representing Surulere Constituency 1 for meeting the expectations of his constituents.
“Allow me Mr Chairman to state a few general positions. The Face of Alaka 2019 Children’s Day Celebration, Femi Gbajabiamila, is a man of integrity, honour, purpose and foresight. Femi Gbajabiamila is a pride to Nigeria and a living testimony to the unlimited capacity of the black man. Femi Gbajabiamila is Surulere’s gift to the world. He is a Nigerian leader, a national leader. Femi Gbajabiamila knows the basic things. He has the will and the drive. He has the basic understanding of what the people need.”
To Mr Adeyinka, the lawmaker, in his first, second, third and fourth term in the House of Representatives, carved an enviable reputation for himself as a firm, principled and visionary legislator.
“Femi Gbajabiamila contributed greatly to the socio-economic growth of the country. Specifically, the member representing Surulere Constituency 1 in the House of Representatives helped to put the country on the path to socio-economic and political re-discovery. He attracted jobs, political appointments and federal projects to Surulere,” the politician said at the event.
He commended Mr Gbajabiamila for his vision and selfless service to mankind, saying, “Femi Gbajabiamila demonstrated his philanthropic gesture by distributing no fewer than 501 computer tablets to secondary school students, 30 new buses, 25 tricycles and 160 motorcycles to his constituents. He sanitized and stabilized democracy in Nigeria.
“He contributed greatly to the death of the Third Term Debate. He brought governance closer to the people. He improved the quality of education in schools through ICT tools. He established various programmes to improve the lives of his primary constituents.”
He disclosed that Mr Gbajabiamila was named Femi Gbajabiamila the Face of 2019 Alaka Children’s Day celebration because of his outstanding legislative performance and the empowerment of the people.
“Hon Femi Gbajabiamila was chosen because of his achievements in the holistic development of Nigeria, his consistency in the course that seeks to prime humanity to loftier heights and his passion for issues concerning Nigeria. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila was also selected because of his role in community development, capacity building and the invocation of the doctrine of necessity.”
Mr Adeyinka said the former US-based lawyer was voted in 2019 to touch the lives of the wonderful people of Surulere, attract the biggest and the greatest amount of attention to the good people of Surulere and attract the attention of the government to the plight of Nigerians.
He said the 9th Assembly needed seasoned and well trained presiding officers to advance the country’s interests.
“We want a House of Representatives that will consider Bills that will help to give legal backing to many of the reform institutions, structures and programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari led APC administration. We want him to continue to pursue noble goals for the betterment of society and of the whole human race. We want him to promote accountability in governance, basic human needs, steady electricity supply and inter-modal transportation. We want him to encourage good educational system and culture of constitutionalism.”
Mr Adeyinka, a strong supporter of Mr Gbajabiamila, said Nigerians want the representative of Surulere Constituency 1 to ensure the independence of the National Assembly and collaboration among all the arms of government.
“We want him to support the current fight against corruption. We want him to develop the youth and ensure that peace and prosperity reign at all times. We want him to handle the issue of constitution of standing committees. We want him to help build a viable nation and restore public confidence in the National Assembly as an institution.”
The APC leader whose speech was intermittently punctuated with songs of praises said the people want Mr Gbajabiamila to improve the living conditions of Nigerians, provide basic infrastructure and great jobs.
“We want our children go to school. We want him to ensure that the National Assembly responsibility which is law-making is carried out with the best procedure, the best practice. It is in the best interests of Nigerians, home and abroad, to ensure the birth of Gbajabiamila’s speakership in June because nothing else is comparable to it as an effective way of protecting the interests of all.”
Mr Adeyinka, however, complained about those opposing the speakership bid of Mr Gbajabiamila, saying they are not wishing Nigeria well.
“They may actually be wolves in sheep’s skin who want all legacies of the President Muhammadu Buhari led APC administration to be wiped off the face of this earth. We must reject such people. They do not mean well for Nigeria.”
“We move that Femi Gbajabiamila , a model of good political etiquette, renowned for solving the most complicated political problems and a man who served his people with integrity, head held high and staying faithful to the call and responsibilities the people have laid on him, do take the chair of the House of Representatives as Speaker in June.”
He also appealed to young Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of integrity to move the nation forward.
“As we celebrate Children’s Day, let us think very seriously about our future. Let us continue to hold our heads up and high.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Senate on Wednesday passed the bill to amend the Electoral Act of 2022 after delays, which almost pitched the institution against several Nigerians.
Last week, the upper chamber of the National Assembly headed by the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, set up a panel to look into the matter, with the directive to submit its report yesterday, Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
However, after the report was submitted yesterday, the red chamber of the parliament said it was going to take an action on it on Wednesday.
At the midweek plenary, the Senate eventually passed the Bill for an Act to Repeal the Electoral Act No. 13, 2022 and Enact the Electoral Act, 2025.
However, some critical clauses were rejected, including the proposed amendment to make is mandatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmission election results electronically from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
The clause was to strengthen transparency and reduce electoral malpractice through technology-driven result management.
It also rejected a proposed amendment under Clause 47 that would have allowed voters to present electronically-generated voter identification, including a downloadable voter card with a unique QR code, as a valid means of accreditation.
The Senate voted to retain the existing 2022 provisions requiring voters to present their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) for accreditation at polling units, and upheld the provision mandating the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) or any other technological device prescribed by the electoral umpire for voter verification and authentication, rather than allowing alternative digital identification methods as proposed in the new bill.
The Senate also reduced the notice of election from 360 days to 180 days, with the timeline for publishing list of candidates by INEC dropped from 150 days to 60 days.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has completed its timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general election, despite pending amendments to the Electoral Act by the National Assembly.
INEC Chairman, Mr Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a consultative meeting with civil society organisations.
Mr Amupitan said the commission had already submitted its recommendations and proposed changes to lawmakers, noting that aspects of the election calendar might still be adjusted depending on when the amended Electoral Act is passed.
He, however, stressed that the electoral umpire must continue preparations using the existing legal framework pending the conclusion of the legislative process and presidential assent to the revised law.
According to him, the commission cannot delay critical preparatory activities given the scale and complexity involved in conducting nationwide elections.
The development highlights INEC’s commitment to early planning for the 2027 polls, even as stakeholders await legislative clarity that could shape parts of the electoral process.
Yesterday, the Senate again failed to conclude deliberations on the proposed amendment to the Electoral Act after several hours in a closed-door executive session. The closed session lasted about five hours.
Lawmakers dissolved into the executive session shortly after plenary commenced, to consider the report of an ad hoc committee set up to harmonise senators’ inputs on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
When plenary resumed, the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, did not disclose details of the discussions on the bill.
Despite repeated executive sessions, the upper chamber has yet to pass the bill, marking the third unsuccessful attempt in two weeks.
The Senate, however, said it will not rush the bill, citing the volume of post-election litigation after the 2023 polls and the need for careful legislative scrutiny.
Last week, the red chamber of the federal parliament constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee after an earlier three-hour executive session to further scrutinise the proposed amendments.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, (REA), Mr Abba Aliyu, is poised to attract an estimated $1.1 billion in additional private-sector investment to further achieve the agency’s targets.
He said that the organisation has received a $750 million funding in 2024 through the World Bank funded Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project.
He added that this capital is specifically intended to act as a springboard to attract an estimated $1.1 billion in additional private-sector investment, with the ultimate goal of providing electricity access to roughly 17.5 million Nigerians through 1,350 new mini grids.
Mr Aliyu also said that the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) has already led to the electrification of 1.1 million households across more than 200 mini grids and the delivery of hybrid power solutions to 15 federal institutions.
According to a statement, this followed Mr Aliyu’s high-level inspection of Vsolaris facilities in Lagos, adding that the visit also served as a platform for the REA to highlight its decentralized electrification strategy, which relies on partnering with firms capable of managing local assembly and highefficiency project execution.
The federal government, through the REA, underscored the critical role the partnership with the private sector plays in achieving Nigeria’s ambitious off-grid energy targets and ending energy poverty.
Mr Aliyu emphasized that while public funds serve as a catalyst, the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s power sector rests on credible private developers who are willing to invest their own resources.
He noted that public funds are intentionally deployed as catalytic grants to ensure that the private sector maintains skin in the game which he believes is the only way to guarantee true accountability and the survival of these projects over time.
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