Politics
Non-Implementation Of Constituency Projects Worry Oshiomhole
The Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole has challenged the members of the National Assembly from the state to account for money allocated to them for constituency projects, just as he received over four hundred and fifty members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties who decamped to the Action Congress at Uzea in Esan North East Local Government Area.
Apparently disturbed by the non-implementation of their constituency projects, Governor Oshiomhole advised that constituency projects should be published in national newspapers for the people to see.
Speaking on the complaints by Uzea community over the neglect of people’s plight by their representatives in the Federal Legislature, the Governor noted that the people have a duty to ask him what has been done with the N100 million constituency funds.
Governor Oshiomhole also used the opportunity to remind politicians to continually abide by the rules of the game, particularly as the 2011 general elections draw near.
According to the Governor who was accompanied by other leaders of the Action Congress to receive the decampees at Uroh Secondary School field, politics is better played when the actors shun violence and the temptation of selling their votes for material benefit.
He disclosed that his administration was already executing projects in Esan North East Local Government Area and other parts of the State, stressing that the Uromi-Uzea-Ugbo road which was abandoned by past administration will be reflected in next year’s budget while Uroh Secondary School , Uzea will be rehabilitated before the end of this year.
He also promised to focus attention on electricity projects, pointing out that enquiries will be made to find out the position as at date.
The leader of the decampees, Chief Report Okoinemen , the Oduma of Uromi, lamented that Uzea community which was formerly a stronghold of the PDP, but now the strongest hold of the AC, has a lot of infrastructural problems.
“We have seen the development strides you are making to turn things around in favour of AC based on your over performance. You are a man of your words and you are like what God says in Isaiah 55:10 – 11, “For as the rain comes down from heaven and does not return back void, but watereth the earth, that it may give seed to sower” so are your words, Governor,” he noted.
According to him, the Governor has matched words with action since assumption of office in 2008.
“You have touched the lives of every person with appointment or employment as well as provision of basic infrastructural development such as massive construction of roads, supply of pipe borne water, extension of electricity and a host of others” he added.
Ben Ose Ogbemudia, Benin City
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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