Politics
Gov Wike Ensures Victory In Edo
Governor Nyesom Wike had severally expressed fear that the APC is a desperate party and would use security agencies to intimidate it’s political opponents in it’s effort to manipulate the Saturday election as was done in Rivers State during the 2019 general elections.
“They will come with federal might. But do not fear because we have the electorate on our side.
“They did same in Rivers State. The people resisted them by protecting their votes”, he said and advised Edo people to stand firm against any move to manipulate the election against the will of the people.
Giving the charge at a meeting for leaders and elected representatives of PDP in benin City last week, Governor Wike stressed the need for the people to work together to liberate the state from godfathers who were frustrating development in the state.
Not convinced by the promise made by the Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Wike, during the PDP mega rally last week said: “ use Edo election to end godfathers . Make sure you vote and be vigilant too.
“ I agree with the Independent National Electoral Commission that the election will be free and fair. Even the Inspector General of Police has promised that nobody will rig the election. But do not leave the polling unit after casting your votes.
“Repeat the Rivers State Model. Let everywoman wear jeans on election day, cast and defend your votes”.
The PDP National Campaign Council Chairman for Edo 2020 Governorship Election, Chief Wike had during a radio interview programme monitored from Port Harcourt, last Thursday, said no politician will cause violence if INEC and police do not compromise.
“Complete manipulation of the electoral process causes violence. No politician will cause violence if the police and INEC do not compromise”, he said.
Another major issue last week in Government House, Port Harcourt was the redeeming of Rivers State Government promise of N30 million bounty to anybody with useful information that could lead to the arrest of one Bobosky, a notorious criminal in Ogoni.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, the Governor presented a cheque of N30 million to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan.
“ I want to thank the police officers under your command for the gallantry displayed in arresting that deadly criminal. Let me also thank the informant who had confidence in you and also trusted Government”, he said.
Issues bordering on the last week gubernatorial election in Edo State dorminated affairs in Government House, Port Harcourt last week.
This is as the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, who played the strategic role of the Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party National Campaign Council, Edo State 2020 Governorship Election, was involved in finishing touches to the election.
In discharging his role as the PDP National Campaign Council Chairman for the election, Governor Wike’s life was threatened during the Saturday election as information filtered into the state that the hotel he was staying was under siege by over 300 armed policemen.
The release signed by the Honorable Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Paulinus Nsirim, raised the alarm, and said the policemen led by DIG Leye Onyebanji had been very audible with threats that Governor Wike should leave Edo State.
The release said: “ We want to be place on record that the Rivers State Governor was appointed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP National Campaign Council Chairman for the September 19th 2020 Edo State Governorship Election.
“ This is a legitimate constitutionally recorgnised appointment in the electoral rules, guidelines and processes of our country”.
By: Chris Oluoh
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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