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Bayelsa Urges INEC To Shift Nov 2 Poll …As CCT Fixes May 22 To Arraign Bayelsa Speaker, Clerk, Three Others

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The Bayelsa State Government, yesterday, demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should postpone the governorship election scheduled for November 2, 2019.
The government premised its demand on the fact that the day clashes with its yearly thanksgiving service which is backed by law.
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), made the plea when he led Bayelsa stakeholders on a courtesy visit to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in Abuja, yesterday.
The state’s thanksgiving service, according to the deputy governor, has the backing of the law and had been on for the past seven years.
In his response, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission would meet to deliberate on the matter and get back to them.
Yakubu also announced the readiness of INEC to commence the prosecution of electoral offenders whose case files have already been prepared by the Nigeria Police Force.
Meanwhile, The Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja, yesterday, said it would on May 22, arraign the Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly,Hon. Friday Kombowei Benson, and four others for alleged abuse of Office.
The Mr. Danladi Umar-led tribunal, in a statement that was signed by the Head, Press & Public Relations at the tribunal, Ibraheem AL-Hassan, disclosed that the Bayelsa Speaker would be docked on a four-count charge.
It said others to be arraigned included the Clerk of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Owudogu Edward, the Accountant, MrKoroye A. Stephen, as well as former Clerk and Accountant of the Assembly, Mr Aaron W. Timiye and Mr Thomas Tamaraodubo, respectively.
The CCT said it okayed arraignment of the Bayelsa officials following a correspondence it received from the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, on April 30.
The defendants were accused of abusing their respective offices, contrary to paragraph 9 of the Fifth schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Their action was said to be punishable under Paragraph 18 (1) and (2) of the Constitution, and as incorporated under section 13 and 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, CAP C15 LFN 2004.
The statement from the CCT read: “Chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal Justice Danladi Y. Umar, has approved 22nd May, 2019 for the commencement of trial against serving Speaker of Bayelsa state House of Assembly, Hon. Friday Kombowei Benson and four others for alleged abuse of office.
“The offences filed was on four count charge, on alleged abused of office against Hon Friday Kombowei Benson, the Speaker Bayelsa state House of Assembly, Cleark of Bayelsa state House of Assembly, Mr Aaron W. Timiye (retired) and Accountant, Bayelsa state House of Assembly Mr Thomas Tamaraodubo (retired).
“Others are Owudogu Edward serving Clerk, Bayelsa state House of Assembly and MrKoroye A. Stephen, serving Accountant, Bayelsa state House of Assembly.
“This was contained in a correspondent from Code of Conduct Bureau, addressed to Chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal to commence trial, dated 30th day of April 2019, jointly signed by the operatives of Code of Conduct Bureau: Musa Ibrahim Usman and Fatima Kere Ahmed.
“The application reads; pursuant to section 24 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, I hereby apply to the Tribunal for the commencement of trial for the offence of Abuse of Office contrary to paragraph 9 of the fifth schedule, part 1 of the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and punishable under paragraph 18 (1) and (2) of the same constitution, and as incorporated under section 13 and 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP C15 LFN 2004”.

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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