Politics
Amaechi Attends APC Convention
One piece of good news that dominated most part of
last week in Government House was that the State House of Assembly and the governor rose to the stalemate that had almost grounded the Judiciary in the past six months.
The House had penultimate week mulled a bill as a way of engendering the adjudication and administration of justice in the state.
On Wednesday, after the massive protest by Rivers People led by two federal lawmakers, Senator Magnus Abe and Dr Dakuku Peterside at the State High Court, against the unilateral action of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to appoint an Administrative Judge, the House held a public hearing on the new bill.
Part of the new bill reads, “where the office of the Chief Judge is vacant and it is impracticable to appoint an acting Chief Judge or a Chief Judge, the Chief Registrar shall assign cases to any Judge and perform other administrative duties until an Acting Chief Judge or a Chief Judge is appointed.”
Chairman of the House committee on Judiciary representing Etche Constituency 11, Golden Chioma presided over the public hearing and gave reasons why the bill was crucial, saying the law was last amended in 2001.
Hon. Chioma said the public hearing was aimed at adding flesh and gauging public opinion, saying “it’s not the National Assembly that made the law, the law was made by the House and we want to amend it.”
About six memorneda were submitted for the public hearing, including that of the state chairman the People Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah. Defending the bill, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wogu Boms observed that a long hiatus in the leadership of the judiciary cannot be allowed to continue considering the huge untried cases in the state.
“I welcome this development to enable our people to access justice “Boms reiterated. The bill was later passed by 17 lawmakers and assented on Thursday morning by-Governor Chibuike Amaechi.
Before the judiciary matter took the centre stage on Wednesday, the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Amaechi had on Tuesday, inaugurated a 23-man state scholarship board. The board is chaired by Hon. Benjamin Orgbani.
While inaugurating the board, Governor Amaechi who spoke through Secretary to the state Government, George Feyii, revealed that the administration spent about N8 billion yearly to fund foreign scholarships, assuring that the benefits would soon be reaped in the form of qualified and expert manpower.
The governor enjoined them to show commitment in their new-assignmet, while reminding them that they were chosen as representatives of their various local government areas to touch the lives of the people.
Later part of last weekend in Government House was dominated by preparations ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Congress in Abuja. The state delegation was led by Governor Amaechi.
By Saturday morning, results of last Friday’s National Congress had filtered in with the announcement of former Edo State Governor, Chief John Odigie Oyegun as elected National Chairman, Chief Oyegun replaces Chie Bisi Akande who had been on acting capacity since the party emerged.
Even though the state preferred candidate, Dr, Sam Sam Jaja did not emerge, Rivers State registered its presence in the APC-National Executive with the emergence of caretaker chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Oji Ngofa as the party’s new Deputy Secretary.
Also at the weekend, Governor Amaechi sent a message of condolence to the Senate over the death of its member, Senator Daliru Kuta who represented Niger East Senatorial District.
Alhaji Mohammed Kasim, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has won the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Philip Akpeni, the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the results on Sunday morning.
Alhaji Kasim polled 22,165 votes to defeat Alhaji Yahaya Shehu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 17,788 votes.
Alhaji Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) scored 1, 687 to come in third place.
“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026,” Akpeni said.
“That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Maikalangu, the APC candidate, was declared the winner of the chairmanship poll with 40,295 votes.
Andrew Abue, the Collation Officer for AMAC, said Hon. Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 3,398 votes.
According to Abue, the total number of valid votes in the chairmanship poll was 62,861, while the total votes cast stood at 65,197.
He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Joshua Ishaku of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Bwari Area Council Chairmanship election.
Announcing the result on Sunday in Bwari, the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Mohammed Nurudeen, stated that Ishaku polled a total of 18,466 votes to emerge victorious in the February 21, 2026 poll.
“I am the Returning Officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Bwari chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026. That Joshua Ishaku, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Nurudeen said.
According to the results declared, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured 4,254 votes, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) polled 3,515 votes to place second and third respectively.
The declaration adds to the series of results emerging from the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, as political parties assess their performance ahead of future contests.
INEC UPLOADS 2,602 OF 2,822 FCT CHAIRMANSHIP RESULTS ON IReV
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had uploaded 2,602 out of the 2,822 expected polling unit results from Saturday’s chairmanship elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as at 5:55am on Sunday, data retrieved from its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) showed.
According to The Tide source, the figure represents an overall upload rate of about 92.2 per cent across the six area councils of the territory.
A council-by-council breakdown indicates that Municipal Area Council recorded the highest number of submissions in absolute terms, with 1,309 of 1,401 polling unit results uploaded, representing 93.43 per cent.
In Gwagwalada Area Council, 330 of the expected 338 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 97.63 per cent — the highest upload rate among the six councils.
In Bwari Area Council, INEC uploaded 463 of 485 polling unit results, translating to 95.46 per cent.
In Abaji Area Council, 129 of 135 polling unit results had been uploaded as at 5:55am, representing 95.56 per cent.
In Kwali Area Council, 164 of the expected 201 polling unit results were available on the portal, representing 81.59 per cent.
In Kuje Area Council, 207 of 262 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 79.01 per cent — the lowest rate among the six councils as at the time of review.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group described the swift assent as a clear demonstration of political will to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We see the decision by President Bola Tinubu to sign the reworked 2022 Electoral Act into law within a few hours of its passage as a demonstration of political will to ensure an improved electoral process which the new law envisages,” the group said.
The TMSG expressed confidence that the development would enable the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to quickly align its operations with the new provisions in preparation for the 2027 polls.
The group noted that the provision for electronic transmission of results had been contentious but described its codification in the law as a significant step forward.
“So, for the first time, the country’s electoral law would be recognising the use of the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the result viewing portal, IREV, which were just INEC guidelines in 2023,” it stated.
According to the TMSG, although the Act provides for electronic transmission of results from polling units to the IREV portal, it also makes room for manual transmission of Form EC8A result sheets as a backup in the event of technological failure.
“Unlike some Nigerians, we do not see anything wrong with the fallback plan but we agree with the President that no matter how beautiful a process is with improved technology, the onus lies on the people manning it to show good faith and ensure that the votes of the people really count at the end of the day,” the statement added.
The group highlighted other key provisions in the amended law, including the streamlining of party primaries to either consensus or direct primaries, early release of funds to INEC, reinforced measures against over-voting, and stiffer sanctions for electoral offences such as falsification of results.
It also pointed out that the mandatory notice period for elections has been reduced from 360 days to 300 days, giving INEC more flexibility in adjusting the timetable for the 2027 elections, especially where it may clash with Ramadan.
The TMSG further observed that the President’s decision to sign the bill days before the forthcoming Area Council Election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) underscores his desire for the law to take immediate effect.
“And by signing the amendment bill a few days before the Area Council Election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is obvious that the President is keen on ensuring that the 2026 Electoral Act takes immediate effect.
“Nigerians would also have an opportunity to see some of the key provisions of the new electoral law become operational, especially the electronic transmission of results,” it said.
The group expressed optimism that the current INEC leadership would leverage the new legal framework to deliver a more credible and widely acceptable electioneering process than in previous electoral cycles.
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