Politics

2023: Uncertainty As INEC, Parties Meet Over Primaries, Others

Published

4 years ago

May 27, 2022

The Independent National Electoral Commission will today have a crucial meeting with the leadership of the 18 registered political parties under the auspices of the Inter-Party Advisory Council.

Sources however told The PUNCH that the meeting, scheduled to hold at the commission’s Headquarters in Abuja at 3.30pm would dwell on the ongoing primaries for 2023 election.

Also to be discussed is the demand of parties seeking the review of the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election.

However, it was not yet clear as at the time of this report if INEC would after today’s meeting accede to the demands of the parties by adjusting the timetable.

The two major political parties, All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party have scheduled their presidential primaries for this weekend.

INEC had reviewed its schedules for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria in February after the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rerd.), assented to the 2022 Electoral Act.

In compliance with the new Electoral Acts, the commission fixed April 4 to June 3 for the election of flag bearers of all political parties for the 2023 elections.

But political parties under the aegis of IPAC and political actors have continued to mount pressure on the commission to extend the June 3 deadline for the primaries.

The civil society organisations and prominent Nigerians, including a former chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, have warned the commission against yielding to the demands of the political parties.

Jega said shifting the deadline would be a recipe for disaster.

IPAC, during a parley with the INEC held earlier this month urged the commission to shift the deadline by 37 days.

The chairman of IPAC, Yabagi Sani, accused the commission of not carrying leadership of political parties along while designing the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 elections.

Sani said the Sallah holiday, forthcoming Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections and screening of an unprecedented large number of aspirants were issues that could hamper timely and strict compliance with the timetable.

A chieftain of the APC, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, had accused INEC of endangering the conduct of the 2023 general elections with what he alleged to be its “plots and partisan interests”.

While warning of looming danger from the “tight INEC schedule of primaries imposed on political parties in the country”, he said the commission’s schedule “has been influenced purely by a section of the political elites who have positioned themselves to benefit from this INEC calendar.”

According to him, it was not the business of INEC to fix dates of primaries in as much as the primaries were conducted 180 days before the election in accordance with the provision of extant law.

But responding, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the extant laws give INEC the power, as a regulator of political parties, to determine when party primaries should take place.

Oyekanmi told journalists that the extension being sought by parties, if granted, would disrupt the planning template for the 2023 general election with dire consequences.

He said, “The timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election was released as far back as February this year, one full year ahead of the election. The conduct of primaries was fixed for April 4 – June 3, 2022.

“The extant laws, indeed, give INEC the power, as a regulator of political parties, to determine when party primaries should take place, contrary to the gentleman’s view. It is quite obvious that he has not read the Electoral Act, which is quite disappointing)

“The INEC Chairman had, on at least three occasions, urged the political parties to conduct their primaries within the stipulated timeline, as no extension will be entertained.

“The extension being sought, if granted, would disrupt the planning template for the 2023 general election, with dire consequences.

“Why is it that the parties cannot conduct their primaries within two months (April and May)? Interestingly, none of them complained about the timeline for party primaries when the timetable was released in February. Why now?”

The Special Assistant to the INEC chairman, Prof. Muhammed Kuna, said contrary to Olawepo-Hashim’s
assumptions, the timetable for the primaries was carefully deliberated upon in the commission with the full knowledge of the various critical activities the commission has to conduct before the 2023 general elections.

These, he said, included the printing and display of the list of nominated candidates, printing of results sheets, movement of ballot papers among other activities.

“Just imagine the number of candidates and pages that have to be printed for each candidate for all 18 parties, for all constituencies for the election (executive and legislative at Federal and State levels); the printing of ballot papers (for all registered voters for all constituencies (1 presidential, 109 Senatorial, 360 Federal Constituencies, 28×2 Governorship and Deputy Governorship; and 993 State constituencies); the printing of results sheets and the movement of ballot papers, results sheets and related election materials and personnel to location”, he stated.

Kuna added that timeline for the primaries was fixed to enable the completion of these and related critical tasks that cannot begin until parties submit their nominees.

The INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said any attempt to review the timeline as requested by IPAC will alter the rest of the INEC schedule of activities ahead of the 2023 polls.

He insisted that the commission has given enough time for parties to conduct primaries to select their candidates for the poll.

“I hereby reiterate the position of the Commission that there will be no review of the timelines. There are so many inter-related activities that are associated with the timelines which must be carried out.

“Any review to extend the timeline for one activity will affect other activities and put unnecessary pressure on political parties and the Commission. This will ultimately result in more complications than what the extension seeks to achieve. Therefore, the Commission will not review the timelines,” Yakubu told leaders of the political parties in attendance.

Politics

2027: NDC Unveils Electoral Committee Members For Primaries

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has released list of Electoral Committee Members to Conduct primary election.

The exercise is for State House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, Governorship and Presidential Primaries across all States in Nigeria and the FCT.

This was contained in a statement posted on its verified X handle on Thursday.

The party had provided updates concerning its upcoming Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, and State Assembly primaries.

According to the party’s National Chairman, Moses Cleopas,
and Barr. Ikenna Alex-Morgan Enekweizu, National Secretary, the primaries are confirmed to take place across the nation on May 29, 2026, adhering to the previously established timetable of May 28 and 29.

Politics

APC: Fubara Has Been Treated Badly, It’s Dangerous For Tinubu – Otubanjo

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The director of research at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Femi Otubanjo, has said the treatment of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, in the just concluded All Progressives Congress’, APC, primary poses political danger to President Bola Tinubu.

Otubanjo stated this on Thursday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he also criticised the role being played by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in the political affairs of Rivers State and the All Progressives Congress.

According to him, the handling of Fubara’s political crisis remains one of the most surprising developments in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Otubanjo further argued that Wike, who is not a member of the APC, appears to be dictating political activities within the ruling party in Rivers State.The research director warned that the current political arrangement in Rivers State could negatively affect Tinubu politically, insisting that Wike was pursuing his personal agenda rather than that of the president.

He said: “The treatment of Fubara must be one of the American wonders of Nigerian politics. Fubara has been badly treated. We have a situation in which Nyesom Wike who is not even in the APC is taking the primary decision in the APC. I hope the tactical team of President Bola Tinubu is not sleeping.

“The reality is that what they have done is very dangerous for Tinubu. What has emerged in Rivers today is that Wike is pursuing his own agenda, not Tinubu’s agenda inspite of PBAT and all of that combination.”

“If Wike really wants to pursue Tinubu’s agenda, he must retain Fubara.”

Politics

In Defence Of Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe: The Generational Shift Reshaping Edo Politics

Published

21 hours ago

May 27, 2026

Editor

By DAN Osa-Ogbegie

For decades, Edo politics remained trapped within a narrow and predictable cycle of political recycling. The same ageing actors moved endlessly from one office to another, from one administration to the next, and from one political alignment to another, as though leadership in Edo State had become the exclusive inheritance of a permanent political aristocracy.

Meanwhile, thousands of intelligent, energetic, and capable young Edo people watched helplessly from the margins while opportunities for leadership, governance, party administration, and public service remained tightly controlled by individuals whose political relevance dated back several decades.

That unhealthy political culture is now gradually changing.

Today, one of the most important political transformations taking place within the All Progressives Congress in Edo State is the deliberate transition from recycled political gerontocracy to a younger generation of political actors. That transition is unfolding under the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State and Leader of the APC in Edo State, together with the State Chairman of the party, Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Predictably, such a shift has unsettled entrenched interests.

Those who became accustomed to monopolising political relevance naturally feel threatened by the emergence of a younger generation that is increasingly assertive, visible, influential, and institutionally empowered. Yet, history teaches a simple lesson: no political structure survives indefinitely without renewal.

No serious political party can continue recycling the same exhausted political machinery forever while expecting innovation, grassroots energy, modern governance ideas, and long-term political sustainability.

That reality appears to be clearly understood by Governor Monday Okpebholo and Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Much of the criticism unfairly directed at Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe in recent times stems from the fact that he has become one of the visible faces of this generational transition within Edo APC. Beneath the noise, propaganda, and political bitterness lies an undeniable truth: the party is consciously opening spaces for younger people in ways not seen for many years.

From the youthful Deputy Chairman of APC in Edo State, Sylvester Aigboboh, to several younger commissioners, Special Advisers, members of the State Executive Council, board chairmen, local government administrators, and strategic appointees across government, the evidence of deliberate political renewal is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

In Uhunmwode Local Government Area, Hon. Austin Imafidon has emerged as one of the young faces of focused governance and grassroots administration. Beyond politics, he has already established himself successfully in business, bringing into governance the mindset of productivity, enterprise, and modern administrative engagement.

In Etsako, Hon. Sunny Ekpeson has continued to attract national attention as the youngest ALGON Chairman in Nigeria, representing a clear departure from the era where local government leadership was treated as the permanent preserve of ageing political operators disconnected from younger demographics.

In Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Hon. Eric Osawaru represents another example of the younger political generation now entrusted with leadership responsibilities, while in Oredo Local Government Area, Engr. Gabriel Iduseri equally reflects the growing confidence being reposed in younger administrators within the APC structure.

In Owan, Hon. Aitalegbe Ernest, popularly known as “China Boy,” has also emerged as one of the prominent young political figures gaining traction as the incoming Chairman of the local government, further reinforcing the expanding generational transition currently taking shape across Edo State.

The same pattern is visible across government institutions and strategic agencies.

Pastor Stanley Dave Ighodaro, a successful entrepreneur with thriving business interests in Europe, now heads the Edo State Parks and Gardens Agency. His emergence reflects an increasingly important shift towards bringing professionally exposed and globally minded younger individuals into governance and public administration.

Similarly, Kassim Otono, who serves as Special Adviser on Oil and Gas to the Executive Governor of Edo State, represents another example of younger technocratic involvement within the present administration. His inclusion within such a strategic sector underscores the growing confidence being placed in younger professionals and politically aware technocrats within government.

This is how enduring institutions are built.

A political party that refuses to regenerate itself eventually becomes intellectually stagnant, structurally weak, and electorally disconnected from evolving social realities.

Governor Monday Okpebholo deserves commendation for recognising that governance in a rapidly changing society cannot remain permanently tied to political methods and leadership assumptions developed several decades ago. Contemporary governance demands adaptability, technological awareness, stronger grassroots engagement, administrative energy, and a deeper connection with younger populations.

Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe equally deserves credit for helping stabilise the party while managing this difficult but necessary transition process. Generational shifts are never easy within political systems historically dominated by established interests. Resistance is inevitable. Political resentment is expected. Internal anxieties naturally emerge whenever old monopolies begin to weaken.

Leadership, however, requires courage.

The recently concluded primaries further revealed this evolving direction within the APC. The emergence of candidates such as Rt. Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Osazee Igbinovia, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu, Omosede Igbinedion, Sir Lucky Eseigbe, and Odianosen Okojie reflects a growing political philosophy that increasingly values capacity, grassroots relevance, contemporary appeal, and generational continuity.

Equally symbolic is the emergence of several young Acting Local Government Council Chairmen who are now candidates of the party in the forthcoming local government elections. That development sends a powerful message across Edo State that political participation is gradually becoming more accessible to younger people with competence, commitment, and organisational value.

For too long, many young people in Edo politics were reduced to political spectators, social media defenders, praise singers, or election-day foot soldiers while actual power remained tightly guarded elsewhere. Such a model was never sustainable.

A society that continuously sidelines its younger generation ultimately weakens its own political future.

The ongoing transition within Edo APC does not amount to hostility towards elders or experienced political actors. Experience remains valuable. Elder statesmen still possess institutional memory and political wisdom that younger actors can benefit from immensely. Mentorship, however, must never become political suffocation. Guidance must never evolve into permanent political domination.

Every generation deserves the opportunity to participate meaningfully in shaping the future it will eventually inherit.

That is precisely why the current direction of the APC leadership in Edo State deserves objective acknowledgement rather than emotional hostility.

Many of those attacking Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe today are not truly angry about party administration. Their deeper discomfort arises from the reality that political influence is gradually shifting away from old centres of control towards a newer generation of actors who may no longer depend entirely on traditional political gatekeepers for relevance or survival.

Societies evolve.

Political cultures evolve.

Leadership itself evolves.

No generation owns political power forever.

Ultimately, the future of Edo State cannot be built exclusively around recycled political veterans whose greatest political moments belong largely to the past. A forward-looking society must continuously create room for younger leadership, newer ideas, fresh administrative energy, and modern political thinking.

That future is already unfolding within the APC in Edo State.

History may eventually remember Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe and Governor Monday Okpebholo as central figures in the difficult but necessary political transition that began moving Edo away from recycled political dominance towards a broader and younger leadership culture capable of preparing the state for a different era.

Daniel Aroren Noah Osa-Ogbegie is a Benin based legal practitioner and public intellectual from Uhunmwode Local Government Area.