Politics
June 12: MOSOP Tasks Buhari On National Reconciliation
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to use the June 12 platform to promote national reconciliation amongst the various ethnic groups and people of the country.
MOSOP President, Legborsi Pyagbara, who made the call in a statement expressed concerns that Nigeria was far more divided today than it was in 1993, when the June 12 general poll was annulled.
The statement which was signed by the Publicity Secretary of MOSOP, Sunny Zorvah and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt however lauded the President signing the June 12 bill into Law.
The statement reads, “Whilst MOSOP commends President Mohammadu Buhari for honouring June 12 by signing the June 12 bill into law, thereby legitimising the celebration of June 12 as ‘Democracy Day’ in Nigeria, we urge the President to lead by example, in using the June 12 platform to promote national reconciliation and healing amongst the disparate ethnic groups and individuals across the country.
“No other day or event in our chequered history better suits that purpose than this period of June 12, when you remember that during the June 12 Presidential Elections in 1993, Nigerians of all tongues and tribes, religions and ideologies dropped their various identities and for the first time, spoke in one voice and voted a candidate, devoid of sentiments.
“It was a watershed in the construction of national unity and Nation State building. That was the beauty of June 12 that was the legacy of June 12. Unfortunately, the government of the day destroyed that unprecedented effort to turn Nigeria into a first world nation.
“There is no denying the fact that Nigeria is today far more divided than we were in 1993, when the June 12 Elections were annulled. As we know, June 12 is not just a day, but a struggle. It’s a struggle for the peace, unity, economic prosperity, true political independence and ultimately, justice for all and respect for the rule of law.
“It therefore behoves on the Federal Government and government at all other levels to seize the recognition of June 12 as Democracy Day to initiate processes aimed at strengthening national reconciliation and healing amongst the various ethnic groups, “Pyagbara said.
He noted that the Ogoni people, ‘whom the Federal Government wronged grievously with the hanging of the Ogoni nine, also take further steps to ensure that the philosophy and ideals behind the June 12 struggle should also be respected and given ultimate attention in the spirit of national reconciliation and healing.
It is not the declaration and celebration of June 12 that matter, what truly brings out the import of the day, is the realisation and institution of the tenets of that struggle; the enthronement of true democracy and giving hope to Nigerians, by offering good governance and allowing the will of the peoples that make up the Nigerian-State to prevail in all democratic engagements.
Pyagbara stated further, “June 12, no doubt, has become a symbol of democracy because of the various actors and key players that made huge sacrifices for justice, respect of the rule of law, end to dictatorship and hopelessness in Nigeria.”
“We urge the Nigerian government not to engage in mere celebration but to truly honour the sacrifices of the heroes and heroines of the Ogoni struggle by instituting a memoriam in honour of Ken Saro-Wiwa and all others,” it said.
Dennis Naku
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”
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