Politics
‘Restructure Nigeria To Six Geo-Political Zones’
An evangelist and social activist in Lagos State has called for the restructuring of Nigeria, the practice of true federalism and the promotion of productive competition among the federating units as the panacea for peace and unity in the country.
The current six geo-political zones, according to him, should become the administrative units of the country under the restructing in order to drastically reduce the financial cost of administering the country under the 36 states and 774 local governments of the present arrangement.
Mr John Ogwai author of the book: Vision 2015 Super Super Nigeria stated this in an exclusive interview in Lagos.
Ogwai, who described himself as a missionary for social reformation said he first got the revelation for the return of Nigeria to the six geo political zones administrative arrangement during the General Sani Abacha regime in Nigeria.
The vision, he said was revealed to him again during the Chief Olusaegun Obasanjo government.
He said that while the governors should be reduced from 36 to six (corresponding with the geo-political zones) executive powers should be removed from the local councils whose chairmen and councillors should be part-time appointees who earn allowances.
The new arrangement, he said would take available about 83 per cent of the national budget for infrastructural development, agriculture, education, health, energy, transportation and social services.
Ogwai w ho advocated that the six geo-political zones administrative structure should take effect by 2015, challenges the present government , the nation’s law makers and political parties to work to bring it to fruition , saying the revelation was a true message from heaven to bring unity, peace and development to Nigeria.
He also called for moral re-armament of our youths and leaders to enable them offer selfless service to move the nation forward.
According to him, if the principle of 50 per cent derivation I reestablished and a high spirit of productive competition among the geo-political units of governance and true federalism, were encouraged, the nation will develop, as according to him, there was no geo-political region that cannot survive without oil.
Ogwai, who is a prince of Benin kingdom, studies in Nigeria and England, worked for 24 years with Mobil Oil Producing Unlimited where he was founder and first chairman of the Mobil Oil branch of Petroleum and National Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
Widely travelled in Europe and America, Ogwai began his Christian ministry in 1994 when he left Holy Ghost Assembly where he was member to start his soul-winning evangelism through writing and distributing tracks.
He told The Tide on Sunday that copies of the book Vision 2015: Super Super Nigeria has been forwarded to senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The foreword to the book was written by Moses O. Ihonde, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the US and ex-speech writer to General Yakubu Gowon
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.
-
Opinion4 days ago
Ancestorial Worship: My Take (1)
-
Niger Delta15 hours ago
PANDEF Seeks 50% Oil Derivation Allocation Increase
-
Rivers13 hours ago
Don Seeks Repositioning Of Tech Education For Dev
-
Education14 hours agoPAMO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY -Nullifies Arrest warrant on VC
-
Education14 hours agoIAUE MOVES TO END GHOST WORKERS SYNDROME AS 400 NEW NON-TEACHING STAFF UNDERGO MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING
-
News16 hours agoFresh Ebola Scare As NCDC Records Two Cases
-
News16 hours ago
Customs Partners EFCC, NDLEA, Others To Tackle Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing
-
News4 days agoFG Must Address Nigerians’ Concerns On Reforms -Shettima …Warns Against Misuse of AI, Social Media