Politics

Gov’ship Polls: How We Will Transmit Results – INEC

Published

3 years ago

March 17, 2023

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has revealed how polling unit results will be transmitted during the governorship elections across the states of the federation on Saturday.

INEC Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed this while speaking on Arise TV on Friday.

Okoye said the commission had learnt valuable lessons from the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

“The law as of today prescribes a dual mode of either transmission of results or transfer of results,” Okoye said.

He said when polls closed at the level of the various units, the Presiding Officer who superintended the polling unit would enter the scores of the various political parties in form EC8A which is the polling unit level result.

He said, “The PO will sign that particular result sheet and stamp it, the PU agent or party agent if available will also countersign and copies will be given to them and the police.

“That original result will be what will be scanned and uploaded to our INEC Result Viewing Portal for public viewing. Not only that, the accreditation data that has arisen from that polling unit will also be uploaded, but the physical result and the BVAS itself will also be taken to the Registration Area Collation centre.”

According to him, the Collation Officer will have the benefit of seeing the original results and the BVAS itself and have the benefit of looking at the accreditation data as transmitted, and the result sheet as transmitted from the polling unit. That is the dual mode that the law has prescribed for the commission and that is the mode that we’re going to use for the purpose of this election.

Speaking on real-time IREV delivery on Saturday, Okoye said results would be transmitted as soon as the polls closed from various polling units.

“The commission is determined to improve on its previous performance. What we have done is to learn valuable lessons from previous elections that we conducted, and we’re going to put those lessons into our planning purposes and processes, and into our deployment purposes,” Okoye said.

Speaking on the commission’s preparedness, Okoye said, “As of today, what we’re having is what we call state assembly and governorship elections.

“In all the states of the federation, both the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and all the sensitive election materials have left the Central Bank and the various state offices of the federation.

“We want to ensure that all polling units open on time. Secondly, we made sure that we reconfigured all the BVAS that will be used for this particular election in terms of making sure that the BVAS perform optimally and also making sure that some of the challenges we had in the previous elections do not reoccur.”

He added that INEC had also given refresher training to all categories of staff that would be involved in the elections.

He said the country would be having 28 governorship elections and 993 state assembly constituency elections, saying “It’s a huge election and INEC will be paying very close attention to what is going on in the various states.”

Politics

Reps Raise The Alarm Over Terrorists’ Threat To Bomb N’Assembly Complex

Published

2 days ago

October 28, 2025

Editor

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Internal Security, Garba Muhammad, on Tuesday disclosed that the National Assembly has received threats from terrorists to bomb the complex and called for urgent fortification of the edifice as a proactive measure.

Garba disclosed this in Abuja at a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish the Legislative Security Directorate, which seeks to enhance security management, protect the lawmakers, staff members and visitors to the nation’s parliament.

The edifice housing the Senate, the House of Representatives and sundry offices, he said, has been facing security challenges, including cases of car and motorcycle theft, vandalism, fake identity cards, and infiltration by unregistered visitors.

Recall that on May 4, 2021, a similar incident was rumoured when security alert warned lawmakers of a planned Boko Haram attack on the National Assembly complex and other VIP/government locations in Abuja. In response, security measures were intensified, including strict vehicle checks that caused significant congestion at the gates.

Lawmakers were advised to use the less-congested presidential gate for safer access. The alert underscored concerns over Boko Haram’s growing threat, with insurgents reportedly operating as close as Niger State, near the Federal Capital Territory.

Following the alert, the National Assembly limited members’ presence on the premises for safety, and security experts called for stronger federal protection of national infrastructure and assets.

Garba said, “We have received threats from terrorists to bomb the National Assembly Complex and threats from protesters to lock up the National Assembly.

“Legislators are exposed to threats from constituents and others who gain easy access to their offices without any formal appointment.

“It is obvious that with the ongoing security challenges, if proper measures are not taken, it will truncate the legislative activities in the National Assembly. If activities are thwarted, there will be no representation, no oversight, no annual budget, no plenary at all — and that will destabilise legislative procedure, democracy, and the stability of the system, and our nation at large.

The Kano lawmaker noted that robust security management requires a holistic and coordinated approach, integrating multi-layered approaches to secure the National Assembly environment to enable lawmakers to discharge their duties in an atmosphere of peace.

“That is why this bill is important. It seeks to address all the challenges as aforesaid and adopt the world’s best practices of parliamentary security procedures and architecture.

“The need for effective security measures in the National Assembly cannot be overemphasised because parliament has to remain accessible to the public. However, this bill is committed to ensuring the best security architecture in the National Assembly — to protect legislators, staff, visitors, and property,” he said.

He urged State Houses of Assembly to take urgent steps to protect their complexes nationwide.

He called for support among stakeholders to ensure the quick passage of the bill, describing it as a major step toward securing Nigeria’s democratic institutions.

“I wish us a peaceful and fruitful hearing that will ultimately bring a turnaround in the National Assembly’s security architecture,” he said.

Politics

N’Assembly committee Approves New State For S’East

Published

4 days ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geo-political zone.

According to a statement by the media unit of the committee, the resolution was reached on Saturday at a two-day retreat in Lagos, where it reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.

The session, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, resolved that, in the spirit of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should create another state for the region.

Kalu, who joined other lawmakers to champion additional state creation for the region, argued that a new state would give the people a sense of belonging.

When created, the South-East will be at par with the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East zones, each having six states.

The South-East is the only geo-political zone with five states comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

The North-West comprises seven states: Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Jigawa.

According to the statement, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved a motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State) at the retreat.

“The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted,” the statement read in part

Similarly, the committee also established a sub-committee to consider the creation of additional states and local government areas across all six geo-political zones, noting that a total of 278 proposals were submitted for review.

Speaking at the event, Jibrin urged members to rally support among their colleagues at the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions sail through during voting.

“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process.

“By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders—from both chambers and the state Houses of Assembly,” the Deputy Senate President was quoted as saying.

Politics

PDP Unveils 13-member Screening Panel For National Convention

Published

4 days ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

According to a statement issued on October 25, 2025, by the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) and signed by its Chairman, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who is also the Governor of Adamawa State, the screening exercise will take place on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

The committee will be chaired by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), a former Ondo State governorship candidate and respected legal luminary.

He will be assisted by Hon. Mohammed L.S. Diri (SAN) as Deputy Chairman, while Mr. Asue Ighodalo, Esq., will serve as Secretary. Jacob Otorkpa was named Deputy Secretary.

Other members of the committee include: Emmanuel Enoidem (SAN), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Mrs. Aduke Maina, Iyom Josephine Anenih, Achike Udenwa, Haj. Maryam Inna Ciroma, HM. Felix Hassan Hyat, HM. Zainab Maina, and Chinedu Nwachukwu, who will also serve as Administrative Secretary.

The statement noted that the selection reflected the PDP’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and internal democracy in the build-up to its national convention.

“The NCOC notes and expects that the exemplary conduct and strict adherence to rules and regulations during this very crucial assignment will justify the confidence reposed by the Party in members of the Committee,” the statement read.

Fintiri assured party members that the screening process will be conducted with the highest standards of fairness and impartiality, underscoring the PDP’s resolve to strengthen its democratic institutions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“This exercise is crucial in ensuring that only credible, competent, and loyal members emerge to steer the affairs of our great party,” Fintiri stated.