General
INEC Chair Tasks Media On Balanced Reports
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mahmood, has urged journalists to always cross check their facts from several channels available to them at the Commission before going to press.
He said because accuracy is one of the hallmarks of professional journalism, it was necessary for the media to ensure its reports are unbiased.
Prof Mahmood also said, “The Commission welcomes and appreciates constructive criticism, which will help us grow since no Election Management Body is perfect.”
Speaking at the 12th all Nigerian Editors’ conference (ANEC) held in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, last Friday, the INEC Chairman, represented at the occasion by the Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, noted that the Commission was aware of the unprecedented attention and scrutiny it had gotten from the press following the conduct of recent elections through several articles that had been published or aired on what INEC did or did not do.
The INEC Chairman reiterated the challenges that have hampered the smooth conduct of elections in recent times, which the Commission had constantly, spoken against and tried to mitigate.
“The most daunting problem encountered by the Commission in conducting elections thus far is violence, which manifests in many ways: physical attack (sometimes leading to unfortunate death) on INEC staff (ad-hoc and regular), intimidation, completion of result sheets under duress and sundry electoral malpractices. At times, violence takes the form of attack on our offices, facilities and public institutions used as polling centres,” he said.
He re-affirmed INEC’s willingness and readiness to conduct elections in any part of the country, but stressed that: “the environment has to be conducive for us to perform our duty. Under no circumstance will INEC conduct an election where our permanent and ad-hoc staff, voters, local and international observers, local and international journalists face the imminent danger of being killed or maimed. No election is worth the life of a human being and we take the safety of our staff and all stakeholders very seriously. The Commission will never conduct or conclude any election that has not met the minimum threshold of credibility under our laws.”
He used the opportunity to correct the wrong impression that all recently conducted elections under his watch were inconclusive. He explained that: “over the last eight months, INEC has conducted over 83 re-run elections, 7 by-elections and three end of tenure elections.
“Of these, 58 were successfully concluded, contrary to the insinuation that all our elections have been inconclusive. It is instructive to note that 22 of the remaining inconclusive elections arose from the March 19 elections in Rivers, which all stakeholders agreed were marred by violence, demonstrated by the untimely death of a youth corps member.”
Professor Yakubu further explained that: “We have thus always ended up with inconclusive elections in all the areas where violence took place. In instances where the Commission could not vouch for the credibility of the process or its outcome, elections were either cancelled in the entire constituency, relying on Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), or in selected Polling Units, relying on Section 53 of the Electoral Act (as amended)”.
On the Commission’s plans to consolidate on the gains of the 2015 general elections and improve the electoral process ahead of the 2019 general elections, the INEC Chairman disclosed that: “The Commission is also looking at ways by which election results can be transmitted electronically from the Polling Units to the Collation Centres in the interest of security, sanctity of the ballot, speed and accuracy. Similarly, we have designed a portal from which all registered voters can confirm and verify their registration online ahead of elections.”
The workshop was attended by various Editors from media organizations across the country with the Commission also being represented by the Commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, Deputy Director in Charge of Publicity, Nick Dazang and the Assistant Director of Publicity, Chinwe Ogbuka.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Sim Fubara.
The exercise commenced on Thursday and if successful, it would see the removal of Mr Fubara from office by the state parliament.
This is coming less than less than four months after he was restored as the Governor of the oil-rich state from a six-month suspension on democracy in the state.
In March 2025, President Bola Tinubu suspected Mr Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly over political tension between the Governor and his predecessor, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
A peace deal was reportedly brokered by Mr Tinubu between Mr Fubara and Mr Wike but things fell apart a few months after.
The Rivers Assembly is populated by loyalists of Mr Wike and has lawmakers from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
A few weeks ago, the Governor decamped from the PDP to the APC, in a move described as a masterstroke because it was calculated that it would free Mr Fubara from the grip of Mr Wike, who has been expelled from the PDP but yet to join the APC.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The petition filed by Mr Aliko Dangote to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the former chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed, has been withdrawn.
The businessman had accused Mr Ahmed of using his office to enrich himself and living above his means.
According Mr Dangote, the former NMDPRA chief spent about $7 million belonging to Nigerians for the primary education of his four children in Switzerland.
In the heat of this, Mr Ahmed resigned from the position, with the ICPC promising to further look into the matter.
It was gathered that the owner of the Lagos-based Dangote Petroleum Refinery has withdrawn his petition against Mr Ahmed from the ICPC because a similar complaint is already being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The ICPC, in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Public Communications, Mr John Okor Odey, on Wednesday said, “The ICPC is in receipt of a letter dated January 5, 2025, titled ‘Notice of Withdrawal of Petition against Engineer Farouk Ahmed’, submitted to the commission by Dr. O.J. Onoja, SAN and Associates, legal counsel to Aliko Dangote.
“The letter states that the petitioner has withdrawn the petition dated December 16, 2025, submitted against Engineer Farouk Ahmed, the immediate past ACE/CEO of the NMDPRA, in its entirety, and that another law enforcement agency has taken over.
“The ICPC wishes to state categorically that, in line with the provisions of Sections 3(14) and 27(3) of its enabling Act, investigations in the interest of the Nigerian people and the Nigerian state have already commenced and are presently ongoing.
“The ICPC will therefore continue to investigate this matter in line with its statutory mandate and in the interest of transparency, accountability and the fight against corruption for the benefit of Nigeria.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the former Attorney General (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and two others, bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties.
The sureties, according to the judge, must have landed property in Asokoro, Maitama, or Gwarinpa.
The documents of the properties are to be verified by the deputy chief registrar of the court while the sureties are also to depose to affidavit of means.
Mr Malami was also ordered to deposit his travelling documents with the court and must not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.
The former AGF and his sureties were also ordered to deposit their two recent passport photograph with the court.
Meanwhile, Mr Malami has been ordered to be remanded in Kuje prison pending his perfection of the bail conditions.
Justice Nwite subsequently fixed February 17 for commencement of trial of the corruption charges.
The same bail were extended to Mr Malami’s son, Mr Abdulaziz Malami, and a listed employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, Mrs Asabe Bashir, who is also believed to be Mr Malami’s wife.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a 16-count alleged money laundering charge against Malami, his son and his wife.
In one of the counts, the anti-graft agency alleged that Mr Malami and his son procured Metropolitan Auto Tech Limited to conceal the unlawful origin of the sum of N1,014,848,500.00 in a Sterling Bank Plc account, when they reasonably ought to have known that the sum constituted proceeds of unlawful activities, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 21(c) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.
It also said they conspired to disguise the unlawful origin of the aggregate sum of N1,049,173,926.13 paid through the Union Bank Plc account of Meethaq Hotels Limited, Jabi, between November 2022 and September 2024, contrary to Section 21 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and punishable under Sections 18(2)(a) and 18(3) of the same Act.
Another count alleged that between November 2022 and October 2025, the duo indirectly took control of the aggregate sum of N1,362,887,872.96 paid through the Union Bank Plc savings account of Meethaq Hotels Limited, when they reasonably ought to have known that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activities, contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
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