Politics
Periscoping 2020 (3)
The United States Government indicted the Federal Government of Nigeria and security agencies of abuse of human rights, disregard for rule of law and exhibition of absolute impunity in a report tittle: “2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Nigeria”.
The report which clearly indicated that there was glaring evidence that the security agencies intimidated voters, election observers, and INEC officials, particularly in the Southern part of the country during the 2019 elections, was signed by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and released on Wednesday, March 11 but made public on Friday, March 13.
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on Monday, March 16, ordered a stay of execution of the Abuja High Court ruling that suspended Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The appellate court, in a ruling by a three-man panel of judges led by Justice Yahaoya Dattijo, also issued an interlocutory injunction restraining the respondents from taking steps to give effect to the high court ruling, pending the determination of appeals Oshiomhole filed before it.
On Thursday, March 29, the Senate announced the suspension of all public hearings with effect from March 24, over the COVID-19 pandemic.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who made the announcement shortly after a closed door session that lasted for over one hour, also said the senate suspended admission of visitors into the gallery.
Former Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea, Engr. Desmond Akawor was elected the new chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State on Saturday, March 21.
Akawor was elected by party delegates during the PDP State Elective Congress held at the Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) announced a total shut down of all activities for two weeks in their desperation to check the spread of Coronavirus pandemic on Monday, March 23.
In a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission warned that apart from shutting down, it “will no longer monitor the conventions, congresses, conferences and meetings of political parties until further notice”.
As the battle to contain the deadly coronavirus raged, the Federal Government suspended its weekly Federal Executive Council meetings as well as the proposed Council of State meeting earlier slated for March 26.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha made the announcement at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, March 23.
President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a two-week shutdown of all activities and movements in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun States on Sunday, March 29.
In a presidential broadcast, Buhari also ordered the payment of two-month conditional cash transfer to those considered the most vulnerable in the society.
Nigerian Senators, on Monday, March 30, agreed to contribute 50 per cent of their salaries to support the efforts to contain the spread and treatment of COVID-19 victims in the country.
Acting spokesman of the Senate, Senator Godiya Akwashiki, who confirmed this in a statement he released in Abuja, said the monthly donation would be “sustained” until the disease is wiped out of Nigeria.
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on Thursday, April 16, dismissed the appeal brought by the Action Peoples Party (APP) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the exclusion of its candidates from participating in the 2019 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States.
Former Chief of Staff to president Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari, died on Friday, April 17, after testing positive for COVID-19 in Lagos.
The late CoS was prayed for at the Defence Guest House in Maitama and interred at the Gudu Cemetery in Abuja on Saturday, April 18.
In a statement by Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, on Tuesday, April 21, President Buhari commiserated with the government and people of Oyo State over the passing on of former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Richard Akinjide.
Chief Akinjide, (SAN), who died in his Ibadan home at the age of 89 on Tuesday, April 21, was Minister of Education in the First Republic, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation in the Second Republic and member of Judicial Systems sub-committee of the Constitution Drafting Committee of 1975-1977.
On Saturday, July 25, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagged-off its governorship campaign for the September 19, 2020 Edo State governorship election at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City with the chaiman of the National Campaign Council and Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike declaring that the South-South geo-political zone completely belongs to the party.
The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Walid Jibrin said, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, July 27, that former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara left the PDP because of his (Dogara) political ambition in 2023.
A former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwu emerged the Imo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Saturday, August 1 state congress of the party held at the Kanu Nwankwo Soccer Centre, Oweri.
Northern Youths under the aegis of Arewa Youths for Peace and Security (AYPS), on Sunday, August 2, said the Southern part of the country should be allowed to produce the next president of the country because it will further unite Nigeria.
President of the group, Alhaji Salisu Magaji made the declaration in a statement rejecting arguments by influential nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Mamman Daura, that competence, and not zoning, should determine the next president come 2023.
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, August 6, directed that used and unused materials for the 2019 general elections be disposed of the commission’s stores nationwide.
Prof Yakubu who spoke with journalists in Nasarawa when he inspected election materials for the Nasarawa Central State Constituency by-election, told the National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, to find a way in ensuring that the materials were properly disposed of.
Unknown assailants, on Sunday, August 9, stormed the residence of Mr Azubuike Ekwegbalu, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State on Security, leaving him dead after allegedly stabbing him with a kitchen knife.
The incident was said to have occurred in the early hours of the day at his residence at the Commissioners’ Quarters, Awka, a high brow area for government officials.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Saturday, August 8, began the use of its dedicated election results viewing portal known as “The INEC Result Viewing (IRev)” for publication of results from polling units.
Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission said IReV would enable Nigerians view polling unit results in real time as voting ends on election day, adding that the innovation began from the Nasarawa Central State Constituency by-election in Nasarawa State on August 8.
It was reported that the by-election results for 26 out of 44 Wards, where the by-election took place were published on the portal as at 6:35pm same day.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who was serving a 12-year jail term, was released from prison on June 2.
He was convicted for embezzling N7.65 billion belonging to the Abia State Government, however, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial after it nullified his conviction.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Monday, August 10, set aside the judgment of a Federal High court in Abuja which had on June 11 held that Section 225 (a) of the constitution gives INEC the powers 70 deregister parties that failed to comply with the provisions of the constitution.
Reacting to the judgment obtained by 23 deregistered political parties, INEC said it would approach the Supreme Court over conflicting judgments by the Court of Appeal on the deregistered political parties.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, recalled that on July 29, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, in an appeal filed by the National Unity Party (NUP) affirmed the power of the commission to deregister political parties that fail to meet the constitutional threshold in section 225 (A).
“After a joint meeting in Abakiliki on Sunday, August 16th, 2020, and after a fruitful deliberation then reached an agreement that, the Chairman of South-East Governors Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, Engr Dave Umahi, Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon. Chibuike Amaechi and Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonaya Onu are the best presidential materials and candidates”, according to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth Council.
The press statement issued by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council and Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, Secretary, explained that the decisions were borne out of due consultations.
The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator, Douye Diri, on Tuesday, August 18 lodged 12 grounds of appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja challenging the Tribunal Judgment that sacked him from office and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to conduct a fresh election in the state within 90 days on Saturday, August 15.
In the Notice of Appeal, he filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, Diri urged the appellate court to set aside the majority judgment of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which nullified his election and uphold the minority verdict.
By: Opaka Dokubo
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor