Politics
INEC Repositions For Future Challenges
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Monday said it has started repositioning and repackaging for electoral challenges ahead.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, said this at a four-day workshop on media monitoring for some INEC publicity officers in Abuja.
Okoye said that the commission was presently harnessing the lessons from the 2019 general election and harvesting positive recommendations aimed at improving subsequent elections.
He assured Nigerians that the commission would continue to improve on its processes and procedures.
Okoye assured the various stakeholders in the electoral process that the Commission would study and analyse all the recommendations made and positively implement them.
Speaking on the workshop, the national commissioner said its aimed at increasing understanding of INEC public officers of new issues, challenges and possibilities in the media.
Okoye added that it was also aimed at how to harness such possibilities and arrest negative perception relating to the work of the commission and build a positive image for INEC.
He said that part of the challenges faced by the commission during the 2019 general elections revolves around information management and strategic communication as well as managing public perception around the processes and procedures of the Commission.
According to him, while the commission had consistently tried its best to provide information to the media it demanded that the spokespersons for the Commission be conversant with the happening in the Commission.
The INEC national commissioner, however, commended the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) for the Media Monitoring Center it donated to the Commission.
He assured INEC partners that the Commission would make good use of the facilities at the media center to promote and enhance its image.
Okoye said that the training would equip and empower the participants with modern skills of monitoring the activities of the media, to keep the commission abreast of issues as they break or begin to trend especially on the social media.
He said that the establishment of a media monitoring center within the Commission was a step in the right direction.
Okoye urged the participants of the workshop to read widely and keep abreast of happenings in the social media.
“The Commission must study and understand the thinking of young people who constitute over 50 per cent of the registered voting population in Nigeria and what keeps them away from the polling units.
“Young persons are very active on the social media and yet have not succeeded in influencing in a significant way the pattern of voting in Nigeria.
“It is a matter of common knowledge that a large proportion of the young people are exceedingly active on the social media and take active part in debates around elections and the electoral process.
“It is our responsibility to understudy and understand the direction and perspectives of young people in relation to the electoral process and why they are very active in the social media and inactive in the voting process,” he said.
On his part, Coordination, Advisor/Electoral Administration Expert, ECES, Mr Manji Wilson, said the media monitoring centre was established for INEC following the recommendations of the European Union Observation Mission to Nigeria, 2015 and 2019.
Wilson said that ECES had procured, delivered and was currently installing hardware and software that would in a few days metamorphose into the National Media Monitoring Centre at the INEC headquarters, Annex.
“The skills and expertise you acquire from this workshop will be crucial to strengthening this center.
“Further support will be considered in due course to expand the scope of ECES interventions to the INEC Media monitoring set-up, beyond Headquarters.
Manji said that ECES was committed to strengthening and deepening the democratic process in Nigeria through the implementation of the EU-SDGN programme- Component 1.
INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said that the participants were drawn from Abuja and INEC offices in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Osaze-Uzzi said the workshop was relevant even after the 2019 general elections, as the commission was preparing for Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.
He said that the training would cover both conventional and social media monitoring.
Politics
Makinde Renames Polytechnic After Late Ex-Gov

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has renamed The Polytechnic, Ibadan as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan, in honour of a late former governor of the State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo.
Dr Olunloyo, who died on April 6, 2025, was the pioneer Principal of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, while he also served as Governor of Oyo State between October 1 and December 31, 1983.
Governor Makinde made the announcement at the state interdenominational funeral service held yesterday in honour of the late former governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde said Dr Olunloyo lived an eventful life, adding that his attainment and personality could not be summarised in one sentence.
“He was not a man we could summarise in one sentence. He was a scholar, a statesman, a technocrat, a lover of culture and, above all, a man of deep conviction.
“While giving the exhortation, I was listening to Baba Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and he said in 1983, Baba became Governor of Oyo State. Though his time in office was brief, his election victory over a popular incumbent remains a powerful testament to the trust people gave him.
“I talked about preserving and digitising his library yesterday [Wednesday] as a mark of honour to Baba Olunloyo.
“Today, we will be giving Baba another honour to immortalise him. He was the first Principal of The Polytechnic, Ibadan; that institution will now be named Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan.”
Earlier in his sermon, a retired Methodist Archbishop of Ilesa and Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu, described the late Olunloyo as a role model with intellectual inspiration and unassailable integrity.
The cleric said the deceased also demonstrated leadership in most superior quality during his lifetime.
In attendance were the state Deputy Governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; wife of a former Military Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Jemibewon; wife of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi.
Others were the member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Hon Abass Adigun Agboworin; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Oyo State Exco members; Chairman of Oyo State Elders’ Council, Dr Saka Balogun; Chairman of All Local Government Chairmen in Oyo State, Hon Sikiru Sanda; President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adeniyi Ajewole; religious leaders and family members, among other dignitaries.
Politics
10 NWC Members Oppose Damagum Over National Secretary’s Reinstatement
Ten members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have countered the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The dissenting members, led by the Deputy National Chairman ( South), Taofeek Arapaja, in a joint statement, said no organ of the opposition party could overturn the decision of the 99th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The dissenting NWC members include Arapaja; Setonji Koshoedo, Deputy National Secretary; Okechukwu Obiechina-Daniel, National Auditor; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Ologunagba; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary and Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, National Treasurer.
Others are Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi, Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader and Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West).
The group also insisted that contrary to the position of the acting National Chairman, the 100th NEC meeting of the party would be held on June 30 as earlier scheduled.
The statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today Wednesday, June 25, wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30.
“The acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the party contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to the 100th NEC meeting.
“The pronouncements by the acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday June 30, is binding on all organs, officers, chapters and members of the party and no organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.
“Furthermore, the claim by Damagum that Sen Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.
“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, June 30, has not been canceled or postponed.”
Politics
Presidency Slams El-Rufai Over Tinubu Criticism …Says He Suffers From Small Man Syndrome
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has fired back at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the latter’s scathing criticism of President Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election prospects.
In an interview on live television, Mallam El-Rufai said it would take a “miracle” for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027, citing an internal poll that purportedly shows a 91 percent disapproval rating for the president across key regions in the country, including the South-East and the North. He also claimed that President Tinubu’s disapproval rating in Lagos stood at 78 percent.
Reacting on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Onanuga took a swipe at the ex-governor, quoting a harsh assessment of Mallam El-Rufai’s character from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Mr Onanuga wrote, citing Chief Obasanjo’s words. “Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.”
The presidential adviser emphasised Chief Obasanjo’s remarks that Mallam El-Rufai often tries to elevate himself by diminishing others. “He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends,” Mr Onanuga continued, quoting the former President. “I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.”
Chief Obasanjo, who appointed Mallam El-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory between 2003 and 2007, did not mince words in the memoir, describing Mallam El-Rufai as suffering from “small man syndrome.”
Mr Onanuga’s post is seen as a direct rebuttal to Mallam El-Rufai’s recent criticism and growing opposition role. The former governor is reportedly playing a central role in forming a new coalition to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March 2025, El-Rufai officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), intensifying speculations about his 2027 political ambitions.
As the political rift deepens, Mallam El-Rufai remains one of the most vocal critics of the Tinubu administration, while Mr Onanuga and other presidential allies continue to push back against what they describe as “reckless” opposition rhetoric.