Politics
Dep Gov, Others Hail LG Polls
The Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, the state Commissioner for power, Hon Damiete Herbert-Miller and the ex-officio member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr Emily Solomon have hailed the conduct of last Saturday’s local government election in Degema Local Government Area.
Dr. Harry-Banigo who performed her civic duty at unit 10 of ward 14 at Obuama thanked the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for satisfactory delivery on its mandate as expected.
The Deputy Governor who cast her vote at 12:10pm expressed appreciation to the people of ward 14, Obuama, for their peaceful and orderly conduct throughout the exercise.
While also commending the peaceful conduct of the exercise in the area, Hon Damiete Herbert-Miller who spoke with The Tide at Degema, headquarters of the local government area lamented the logistics difficulty usually experienced by parts of the LGA, leading to delay in distribution and arrival of electoral materials.
According to Hon Herbert-Miller, 13 out of the 17 wards of the LGA are riverine with some of them very far away from the headquarters of the council from where electoral materials are usually distributed, adding that the situation poses a lot of challenges at every election period.
The commissioner, however, commended RSIEC for doing its best inspite of the difficulties and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to intervene by splitting Ward 17, comprising Ogurama and Ke towns, into two independent electoral wards.
“Sometimes, it takes as much as five hours for electoral materials to get to some parts of the LGA and gun boats may be required to accompany them at times”, he said, adding that something needs to be done to address the situation in order to change the perennial narrative of late arrival of materials in the area.
He expressed the confidente that the PDP would win because “ Wike had done the campaign for them with his projects” and that the party was more on ground and widely known in the area than any other.
To the people of DELGA, he said, they should expect a new dawn as a new PDP administration would follow the footsteps of Governor Nyesom Wike in embarking on projects that will impact positively on the lives of the people.
Also speaking with The Tide after casting her ballot at unit one Ward 12, Degema Town, Dr Emily Solomon said election materials arrived the ward early and gave kudos to RSIEC, security operatives and the entire community for working together to achieve a violence-free and orderly conduct of the exercise in the area.
Asked if she was satisfied with the PDP giving only vice chairmanship slots to women in the 23 local government areas, Dr Solomon who is also a former Commissioner for Special Duties in the state commended Governor Nyesom Wike for the gesture, stressing that it had never been so good for women in the state.
“ It has opened the way for women, otherwise it would have been very difficult”, she said, adding that participation in governance in particular and politics in general in Nigeria had always been skewed against women and urged successive administrations to build on the foundation laid by Governor Wike and the PDP in Rivers State.
With five councilloship slots she said Degema Local Government Area has the highest member of female councillorship candidates in the state and thanked the Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo for working closely with the governor to bring about the achievement and advised women to always work cooperatively with their men counterparts to make more progress in the political sphere.
By: Opaka Dokubo
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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