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World Seed Day: Withdraw From UPOV, Groups Urge Nigerian Govt

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and Environmental Rights Action, have called on the Federal Government to withdraw from the International Union for the Protection of New Plant varieties (UPOV 1991), arguing that the Law, which is line with the UPOV’s provisions, undermines traditional agricultural practices and threatens farmers rights and freedom by opening the door for corporate control.
In a statement issued by Kome Odhomor Media/Communications Lead, HOMEF, to commemorate this year’s World Seed Day, the organizations, while acknowledging the resilience, knowledge and ingenuity of small holders farmers all over the world who have for generation preserved the biodiversity of seeds and food sovereignty, said they have been campaigning against UPOV since 2021.
With the 2025 World Seed Day themed ‘Empowering Farmers-Protecting Biodiversity,’ the Ecological Think Tank, urged the Nigerian government to promote farmer-managed seed systems and invest in local, resilient seed networks that secure food and ecological justice.
In the statement, Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, HOMEF, stated that the Nigerian Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Law fails to recognize the country’s unique agricultural landscape.
READ ALSO: World Earth Day: HOMEF Holds Climate Justice Assembly, Tasks N’Delta Activists On Unity
“HOMEF in partnership with other national and international organizations has since 2021 campaigned against the set up of the Nigeria’s Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Law which was developed as a requirement for membership in UPOV.
“The PVP Law threatens farmers right, biodiversity and our food sovereignty.
“Despite our collective voice and a lawsuit against some key components of the law, The Nigerian government on 27th February 2025, deposited the instrument of accession and Nigeria was approved as the eightieth member of UPOV on 27th March 2025.”
Bassey, who argued that the law creates an imbalanced environment where Intellectual Property Rights override farmers’ rights, added: “It promotes the dominance of commercial seed systems over farmers’ and indigenous seed systems, thereby marginalizing the very people who have sustained our food systems for generations.”
READ ALSO: HOMEF Charges Speedy Clean Up Of Ogoniland, N’Delta
Also lending her voice in the statement, Joyce Brown, Project Lead on Hunger Politics, HOMEF, noted that careful analysis of the PVP Law has shown that it places severe restrictions not only on the use of farm-saved seed (propagating material) but extends to harvested material (e.g., grain) and even further to products made directly from harvested material (e.g., milled maize).
Brown further argued that the PVP law encourages the genetic modification of crops which have direct implications on human (use of herbicides and pesticidal crops) and environmental health (monocultures) as well as on biosafety (destruction of non-target organisms).
On her part, food sovereignty activist and Deputy Director of Environmental Rights Action, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje highlighted that “the process of development of the PVP law was less than transparent, with no public hearings and lack of consultations and participation of smallholder farmers. This is in contrast to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 which provides for democracy and social justice as per Article 14 (1) and 14(2) (c ).”
In addition, she pointed out that “the law grants final decision-making power to the Minister of Agriculture, particularly in cases of appeal regarding breeder’s rights.
“This provision violates Section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to a fair hearing and access to justice through the courts.
READ ALSO: International Day For Biological Diversity: HOMEF Calls For Preservation, Reconnection To Nature
“Concentrating such powers in the hands of a single authority undermines democratic principles and judicial independence.”
The groups, therefore, advised that “Nigeria should develop a “sui generis” plant variety protection system tailored to Nigeria’s unique agricultural context, drawing from the African Model Law.
“Such a system should ensure that protection mechanisms do not privilege commercial interests at the expense of communal, farmer-driven seed systems.
“It is essential that this law be developed through inclusive, bottom-up consultations with farmers, indigenous communities, civil society, and public research institutions.
“This seed law must guarantee farmers’ rights, including the right to save, use and exchange farm-saved seeds without criminalization; ensure full transparency and public access to breeder applications to protect against exploitation and safeguard indigenous knowledge; support smallholder farmers through credible credit facilities, infrastructure, and support for public research institutions that serve farmers’ needs.
“Also, Nigeria should prioritise the set up of seed banks at community, local government and state levels to ensure the preservation of indigenous varieties.”
News
Avoid Mistakes Of 2023 Elections, EU Tells Nigeria

The European Union has raised the alarm over the slow pace of electoral reforms in Nigeria, warning that without swift action, the country risks repeating the “serious shortcomings” of the 2023 general elections.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Barry Andrews, a member of the European Parliament and chief of the EU Election Observation Follow-up Mission to Nigeria, presented a sobering assessment of progress since the EU Election Observation Mission delivered its final report in 2023.
“In this context, we are here to reflect on how electoral reform can deepen the roots of democracy here in Nigeria,” Andrews said, adding that the EU deployed a follow-up mission comprising three experts on 9 September 2025 to engage stakeholders, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, the National Assembly, political parties, civil society, the media and development partners.
The mission chief reported that of the 23 recommendations made by the EU EOM in 2023, only one had been fully implemented; two had been partially implemented; eight were ongoing; nine were yet to be implemented; and for three, it was still too early to tell. Eleven recommendations require legal changes, and 12 are administrative in nature.
READ ALSO:Nigerian Singer Attih Soul Performs At Barcelona Star Lamine’s Birthday
“The fully implemented recommendation is ensuring institutional accountability by consulting on the publication of election-related laws. INEC has carried this out, but that is one of 23. There is much more work to do, and I want to re-emphasise that this is a critical moment,” he said.
“Our evaluation indicates that progress in implementing the recommendations has been modest thus far and is in serious danger of falling to critically low levels.
Avoiding this outcome will require both political will from legislators and urgent, coordinated administrative actions by relevant institutions,” he warned.
Despite the slow progress, Andrews noted a strong consensus among stakeholders. “What we find especially important is the strong alignment we see between the recommendations of INEC, civil society — through the Citizens’ Memorandum — and those of the EU election observers. Each of these three processes was conducted independently, and yet they point in the same direction.”
He emphasised that Nigerians themselves — within institutions and in civil society — are calling for the same changes international observers have highlighted. “It shows that there is a broad and shared understanding of what needs to be done to strengthen future elections,” the mission chief added.
READ ALSO:INEC Gets 151 Party Registration Requests, Begins Screening
Andrews acknowledged that work has begun on electoral reform, including ongoing deliberations on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025 and constitutional review processes, both of which incorporate several of the EU’s recommendations.
He welcomed growing collaboration between civil society organisations and lawmakers, noting that civil society has contributed technical expertise and advocacy while Parliament has created space for engagement.
Andrews said the success of reform hinges more on political will than on technical drafting.
He outlined six priority recommendations deemed essential for improving Nigeria’s electoral integrity and stressed the importance of transparency in the appointment of a new INEC chairperson, expected later this year.
READ ALSO:ADC: Why INEC Has Not Recognised David Mark, Others
“A transparent, non-partisan and merit-based appointment process will strengthen INEC as an institution and give citizens greater confidence that the commission will improve its professionalism, neutrality and independence,” he said.
The mission chief also highlighted the need for greater transparency in results management. “We all saw in 2023 how quickly confidence can be eroded when polling-unit results are missing, uploaded with poor quality, or collation appears disorganised.
Andrews further flagged the extremely low representation of women in Nigeria’s political institutions.
He praised the discussion around the reserved-seats bill as a potential milestone toward inclusivity.
READ ALSO:INEC Portal Records Over 69,000 Online Voters Pre-registration
Turning to electoral offences, Andrews warned that widespread impunity for misconduct — such as violence, vote buying and misuse of state resources — continues to threaten election integrity. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said, noting that prosecutions remain too few and too slow.
He described the proposed electoral offences commission as a much-needed step forward.
He also stressed the importance of legal clarity, saying INEC needs a stable legal environment to carry out its responsibilities effectively, from voter education to budgeting. “If reforms are adopted too late, they risk causing uncertainty or even becoming impossible to implement,” he said.
Finally, he raised concerns over the safety of journalists, citing ongoing reports of harassment and violence against media professionals. “What is needed is a credible system to investigate and prosecute attacks swiftly and effectively. That would show that freedom of expression is not only guaranteed on paper but also upheld in practice.”
In concluding his remarks, Andrews acknowledged progress, especially in legislative engagement and discussions around gender representation, but warned that “the window for reform is closing fast.”
READ ALSO:Things To Know As INEC Begins Physical Voter Registration Monday
He urged political actors to seize the current momentum to deliver reforms that can safeguard transparency, inclusiveness and credibility in the 2027 elections, noting that falling turnout in successive elections shows the stakes have never been higher.
“We are supporting Nigeria through our Democratic Governance in Nigeria programme,” Amb. Mignot said. “We are doing this by supporting the implementation of the recommendations of the EU observation mission with technical assistance — for stakeholder consultations, for instance — partly through institutions such as the National Assembly and civil society.”
He clarified the EU’s approach to off-cycle elections, distinguishing formal observation missions from “watch visits” by diplomats. “We don’t do observation missions in off-cycle elections,” he explained.
Recall that INEC chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu, during the EU’s visit to the commission’s headquarters on Thursday, confirmed that only eight of the 23 recommendations made by the EU in 2023 were directly addressed to the commission, and just one was marked as a priority.
Yakubu warned that failure to act swiftly on electoral law amendments could disrupt planning for the 2027 elections.
News
Awujale: UNILAG Don Leads Ruling House Faction

A professor of Media Law and Mass Communication with the University of Lagos and one-time Commissioner for Information in Ogun State, Fassy Yusuf, has emerged as the head of a faction of the Fusengbuwa Ruling House dubbed as the “Original Fusengbuwa Ruling House.”
Speaking at a briefing held on Thursday in Agunsebi, Ijebu-Ode, the professor stated that the royal family, which is next in line to produce the next Awujale of Ijebu land, has kicked off registration of the family members of the ruling house as part of foundation-laying preparations for the selection and filling of the vacant stool of Awujale.
The faction of the ruling house being coordinated by Yusuf comprises the Jadiara, Bubiade, Tunwase and Fusengbuwa royal families.
This development is coming on the heels of the reported reconciliation of the two previous factional groups led by Adedokun Ajidagba and former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdulateef Owoyemi.
READ ALSO:Awujale Succession: Court Battle Begins Over Ruling House Leadership Crisis
Yusuf said, “I must also emphasise that the mourning period of the late Awujale, Oba (Dr) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, CFR, GCON, who passed on July 13, 2025, will officially end on Sunday, October 11, 2025, paving the way for the implementation of the succession process.
“The Declaration made under Section 4 (2) of the Chiefs Law 1957 indicated that the four ruling houses are entitled to produce Awujale, and they are Gbelegbuwa, Anikinlaiya, Fusengbuwa, and Fidipote, but it is now the turn of Fusengbuwa.”
He further explained that candidates must be of the ruling house and from the male line, except in cases where succession devolves through the female line under the Abidagba principle.
Responding to questions about the Folagbade Adenuga group’s claim of having the right to produce the next Awujale, the former commissioner stressed that Folagbade is not listed as a ruling house in the declaration and therefore must align with one of the recognised branches.
READ ALSO:PHOTOS: Awujale Installs El-Rufai As Gbobaniyi Of Ijebu Land
As part of preparations to pick a successor to Oba Adetona, who joined his ancestors on July 13, 2025, Yusuf said that membership registration forms to build a family database and expression of interest forms for aspirants to the throne had been prepared for a smooth sailing exercise.
Recall that preparation to pick the next Awujale after the death of Oba Adetona, aged 91, in July, and who reigned for 65 years, had been gathering momentum, particularly within the Fusengbuwa ruling house, which is the next to produce the next Awujale.
The former President of ICAN, Alhaji Owoyemi and an oil and gas magnate, Adedokun, had been at each other’s throats for some time over the leadership of this ruling family.
The two elders, however, about a week ago, decided to bury their differences and reconciled to work together in unity, even as they both pledged to ensure that the right candidate for the vacant stool of Awujale is selected when the time comes.
It was gathered that the three-month mourning period of Oba Awujale would be completed by October 11, after which the race to pick the next Awujale would go into full swing.
(PUNCH)
News
Pastor Adeboye To Lead Prayers For Nigeria

The General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God,Pastor Enoch Adeboye
The General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. Photo Credit: RCCG
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, will host a special thanksgiving service to commemorate the 65th Independence anniversary of Nigeria.
In a statement made available to Saturday PUNCH, RCCG said the service, themed “The King of kings,” will take place at the church’s national headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, on Sunday.
READ ALSO:RCCG Pastor Arrested Abroad For Greeting ‘Ladies And Gentlemen’ — Adeboye
According to the RCCG, the programme was inspired by a divine direction, and it would feature special prayers for public office holders in the country.
“Guided by divine direction, Pastor Adeboye will lead special prayers for government executives, legislators, politicians, electoral institutions, peacekeeping groups, political leaders, elder statesmen, students of political science, citizens’ rights organisations, and for the people of Nigeria at large,” the statement read.
The church urged the general public to join the programme, describing it as a “solemn national intercession for peace, unity, and divine progress for the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
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