Politics
Wike Has Ended Era Of Godfatherism In Edo – Akawor
Following the victory of Governor Godwin Obaseki in the just concluded Edo State governorship election, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, has said that Godfatherism has been completely destroyed in Edo politics.
Ambassador Akawor said this when members of the Non-Indigenes Without Borders in Rivers State paid him a congratulatory visit on Monday, at the PDP Secretariat in Port Harcourt.
The state PDP chairman, who suggested renaming the body ‘Indigenes Without Borders’ said it was the policy of Governor Nyesom Wike to treat every body who lives and do business in the state as an indigene of the state.
Ambassador Akawor expressed happiness that those who said Governor Wike would not enter Edo State were disappointed as he not only entered but ensured that the PDP candidate Godwin Obaseki, won the election, stressing that due to the doggedness and tenacity of Governor Wike, the entire Niger Delta region has come under the control of PDP.
“The people of Edo have been singing his praises. In fact, the entry of Governor Nyesom Wike into Edo State changed the political calculation of the APC to the extent that their governorship candidate was making calls, complaining about the presence of the Rivers State Governor in Edo State”, Ambassador Akawor said.
According to him, “ the enemies wanted to use Edo as a test case but the Lion of the Niger Delta moved from Port Harcourt to Edo and told them that God- fatherism should end in the state”.
He commended members of the Non-Indigenes Without Borders for being the first group to endorse Governor Wike for a second term even when the opposition alleged that the governor would drive away non in-digenes from the state if he was re-elected .
“ The Governor who people claimed was going to drive away non indigenes from the state has today signed the highest number of Certificate of Occupancy for Non Indigenes than any other governor that served the state “, Akawor affirmed.
He also commended members of the Non Indigenes Without Borders for mobilizing effectively during the last election in the state, assuring that they would not be left out in the scheme of things by the party.
Earlier, the National Coordinator of Non Indigenes Without Borders, and Commissioner for Special Duties (Governor’s office) Hon. Chukwuemeka Onowu said they were at the Secretariat to congratulate the new Executive of the PDP.
Hon. Onowu who promised that the body would not betray the PDP and the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said the present administration in the state has empowered non indigenes in several ways, especially through appointment.
The group later presented gifts to party officials including the Chairman and his Deputy, Hon Chukwuemeka Aaron.
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.
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