Politics
Owuru Cautions On Confab
The former presiden
tial candidate of the
Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Chief Ambrose Owuru, has warned against the politicisation of the National Conference.
Owuru, who made the assertion last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, in a chat with newsmen, said “inspite of the conference being necessary, we do not want it tribalised or politicised”.
He opined that the conference was a serious issue as structural changes about the country would be discussed, but warned against teleguiding the framework being put together by the President.
“We need the new make up because a lot of things have gone wrong, a lot of things need to be cleared, we are in one breadth practising presidential system of government and at the same time, doing another thing”, Chief Owuru said.
He remarked that Nigeria as a country needed to be re-examined to find out if the presidential system is actually needed, considering the high level of corruption in the government.
He posited that the parliamentary system has in-built checks and balances as those elected are answerable to their constituencies and the parliament, noting that first republic politicians were more responsible than today’s.
“I will advise that we should not waste the opportunity we have now to protect minority interest. These are not things you do in a hurry. I hope that the conference gives us the desired result and not to turn it into a jamboree”, Chief Owuru stated.
He, however, disagreed with the timing of the conference, suggesting that the conference should be convened after the next general election when the president should send a bill to the National Assembly to effect changes in the constitution.
On his next line of action in 2015, Owuru said he was the fore runner in the campaign for south-south presidency that paved the way for the current president and bemoaned the neglect of those who started the struggle for south-south presidency.
Ahead of the bye elections into Khana 11 and Ahoada East 11 state constituencies in the Rivers State House of Assembly respectively this weekend, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) are conspicuously missing in the list of political parties billed to participate in the elections.
This is as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared it’s readiness for the bye elections on Saturday, February 21.
According to a publication from the INEC, parties on the ballot for the elections include the All Progressives Congress (APC), Action Alliance (A A) and Young Progressive Party (YPP).
The rest are, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Action Peoples Movement (APM).
Efforts to get the leaderships of the ADC and PDP in the state for their reactions proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers State has disclosed it’s readiness for the bye elections in the two constituencies this Saturday, 21 February, 2026.
This was contained in a press statement signed by the Commission’s Head of Voter Education and Publicity in the state office, Mrs Geraldine Ekelemu, on behalf of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), a copy of which was obtained by The Tide in Port Harcourt.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission hereby notifies the Public that bye-elections will hold in Ahoada-East II and Khana II State Constituencies on Saturday, 21st February, 2026.
“Accreditation and voting will commence at 8.30am at all the designated Polling units in the affected Constituencies.
“Only registered voters with valid Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) will be allowed to vote, and accreditation will be conducted using the BVAS. Remember, No PVC, No voting.
“INEC urges all eligible voters in the affected constituencies to turn out peacefully and exercise their civic responsibility”, the Commission said.
By: John Bibor
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
In a timetable issued by its National Secretariat in Abuja and signed by the National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, the party said the activities were in line with provisions of its constitution guiding the election of party officials across all tiers.
According to the schedule, membership e-registration began on January 31 and ended on February 8, while notices of congresses were dispatched to state and Federal Capital Territory chapters on February 2.
Submission of nomination forms for ward and local government congresses closed on February 9, followed by screening and appeals between February 10 and February 14.
Ward congresses are fixed for February 18, with appeals the following day, while local government congresses will take place on February 21 and appeals on February 23.
At the state level, purchase of forms for state executive positions will run from February 22 to February 25, with screening set for February 27–28 and appeals from March 1–2. State congresses are scheduled for March 3, and appeals on March 4.
Activities leading to zonal congresses and the national convention include purchase and submission of forms between March 12 and March 16, inauguration of screening committees on March 23, and screening of aspirants on March 24. Zonal congresses across the six geo-political zones are slated for March 25, with appeals on March 26.
The party’s national convention will hold from March 27 to March 28.The APC also published fees for expression of interest and nomination forms across the different tiers.
At the ward level, expression of interest costs ?5,000, while nomination forms range from ?15,000 to ?20,000 depending on the position. For local government positions, nomination forms range from ?50,000 to ?100,000 after a ?10,000 expression-of-interest fee.
State executive positions attract ?50,000 for expression of interest, with nomination forms pegged at ?1 million for chairman and ?500,000 for other offices. Zonal offices require ?100,000 expression of interest and ?200,000 for nomination.
For national positions, the fees rise significantly, with expression of interest set at ?100,000. Nomination forms cost ?10 million for national chairman, ?7.5 million for deputy national chairmen and national secretary, ?5 million for other offices, and ?250,000 for National Executive Committee membership.
The party noted that female aspirants, youths and persons living with disabilities would pay only the expression-of-interest fee and 50 per cent of nomination costs. It also clarified that Ekiti, Osun, Rivers states and the FCT are excluded from ward, local government and state congresses, but will participate in electing delegates to the national convention.
Forms are to be completed online after payment verification, with payments directed to designated APC accounts at Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa.
The congress cycle is expected to determine new party leadership structures ahead of future electoral activities.
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