Politics
Body Mobilises 1m Votes For Ayade
A pressure group in Cross River State,‘Code 888’, which comprises mostly of youths, has vowed to mobilise over one million votes for the re-election of Governor Ben Ayade in the March 2 polls.
Director General of the group, Mr Maurice Nkong, said this on Friday in Calabar during the flagging off of the Polling Unit 2 Polling Unit (PU2PU) campaign.
Nkong explained that the one million votes would also play a part for the People’s Democratic Party and it presidential candidate to emerge victorious at the polls.
According to him, the objective of the group is to pursue the equitable distribution of power across the 3 Senatorial Districts of the state for political stability.
He added that the essence of the mobilisation was due to Ayade’s massive achievements in the past three and a half years, especially in the areas of industrialisation and job for the youths.
“As we are moving to the field, we have a target for a million vote for Gov. Ayade and every other PDP candidate including the Presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar.
“We are doing Atiku, we are doing Ayade and our target is 1million out of 1.5million votes in Cross River and we have vowed to deliver. (Cross River has 1,527,289 voters for 2019 election, according to INEC). That is why we are going with the polling unit 2 polling unit approach.
“We know that votes cannot be bought with placards on the streets or with billboards, votes can only be bought on the minds of the people and we are packaging the truth together and when we sell the truth, the truth will rise in it.
“So, we are going to every polling unit to tell them what the government has done and why they should vote Ayade and Atiku Abubakar.”
Nkong, who defined the concept of Code 888, said that since 1999, power began in the Southern Senatorial District where Mr Donald Duke did eight years and Sen. Liyel Imoke from Central took the next eight years after Duke.
He added that Ayade, from the Northern Senatorial District, who is pursuing industrialisation agenda in the state in his first tenure, should also be supported to complete his 8 years for equity, fairness and justice.
On his part, Coordinator, PU2PU, Mr Daniel Obo, said they are working to ensure that their vote counts, alleging that the PDP voting strength in Cross River was far better than that of other parties.
“We know that on ‘one man, one vote’ basis, Ayade will win and so we are going to the field to be sure that our vote counts. We are going to the field to be sure that there is no rancour in the course of the elections.
“In the entire voting strength of the State, PDP has the highest voting number and we are going to consolidate on that.
“Ayade has given us an opportunity as youths to be part of his government and we make up 80 per cent of the voters, so we are going out to be sure that this 80 per cent votes appreciate Ayade for getting youths involved in government,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Senior Special Adviser on Political Matters to Ayade, Dr Peter Ojie, while urging the teeming youths to seize their moments, lauded Code 888 for their orderly organisation and conduct.
Ojie advised them against being used by politicians, saying that the days where young people were used and dumped during elections are gone.
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.