Politics

INEC To Introduce New Technologies

Published

5 years ago

January 13, 2021

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is reviewing its adopted technologies for elections, with a view to introducing new ones to improve conduct of the elections ahead of 2023.

The INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity Department (VEP), Mr Nick Dazang, disclosed this yesterday at a workshop for the department on the “Review of National Voter Education Manual” held in Keffi, Nasarawa State.

The five-day workshop is organised by INEC in partnership with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).

Dazang, speaking with newsmen on the sideline of the workshop, said INEC began the process for electronic voting since 2004 when it introduced optic map registration forms.

“After that in 2010, the commission introduced the use of direct data capture machines, and then expanded the use of the machines in the conduct of the 2011 election.

“So, we have started the process as far back as 2004, culminating in the use of the Smart Card Reader (SCR) and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) that we also used in 2015.

“But the commission is reviewing this process with a view to upgrading and improving the conduct of elections in 2023.

“The commission wants to introduce new technologies that will help deepen the conduct of the elections, and also improve on them. So the commission is working assiduously on that.

“Very soon, when the commission has taken a position, it will come out and explain to Nigerians how this is going to be done,” Dazang said.

He said that in introducing the new technologies, INEC would revisit the use of card readers and likely to introduce other technologies that will work seamlessly with electronic voting in 2023.

“The commission has been working on that in the past few months and God’s willing in the next few months the commission will make its position known to the public.”

He said that INEC would continue to introduce new technologies to the electoral system, not for the fancy of it, but the technologies that worked.

He noted that the commission had no regrets on the technologies it had so far introduced for the conduct of elections in Nigeria as they had helped in deepening the process and the transparency.

Dazang said that the commission was also reviewing its voter education to enable it to explain better the planned technologies to Nigerians.

“In reviewing our voter education, we are looking at certain dynamics including the technologies that the commission intend to introduce.

“We have to be on top of the matters so that we can explain the application of these technologies to Nigerians as we did when we introduced SCR, direct data capturing machines and PVCs.

He described voter education as key part of the electoral process that needed concerted efforts not just from INEC, but all stakeholders.

“If you look at what is happening around the globe including Nigeria, so many changes are happening that necessitate the urgency to review voter education.”

This, according to him, include the issue of changes in technology and COVID-19, saying we need to change our communications process to respond to the changes.

“We need to change our communications in response to growing youth population. We need to use strategies that resonate with the youth and women population.”

On the amendment of the Electoral Act, Dazang said that the commission was working seriously with two committees of the National Assembly, adding that substantial gains were being made on the amendment.

He expressed optimism that the NASS would rise to the challenge in meeting up with its promise to Nigeria to amend the Electoral Act before the end of the first quarter of 2021.

On the Anambra governorship election, Dazang said that the commission would at the appropriate time issue the date and timetable for the conduct of the election, latest by six months to the conduct.

He urged the staff members of the commission to always upgrade themselves on new technologies as well as continue to obey the COVID-19 safety protocols.

The WFD Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr Adebowale Olorunmola, expressed the foundation’s continued determination and support for INEC to deepen voter education in Nigeria, especially at the grassroots.

He said that the foundation started its partnership journey with INEC in 2015 in ensuring more inclusion of women and people living with disability in electoral process.

Olorunmola commended INEC for deepening voter education and more inclusive electoral process for women and people living with disabilities.

He said that the workshop was key in enhancing voter education from the current way to wider and deeper ways to improve on future elections.

“There is nothing like advanced democracy anymore, but work in progress.

“If you look at what has been happening in U.S. even with their decades of practising democracy they are still moving to deepen voter education.”

Politics

Alleged Coup: Protests Rock N’Assembly As Detained Officers’ Children, Wives Demand Justice

Published

4 days ago

April 2, 2026

The Tide

Scores of children and wives of military officers detained over an alleged coup plot yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the National Assembly, demanding a speedy trial and the release of the accused officials.

The protesters who gathered at the entrance of the National Assembly complex, moved in a slow procession while clutching placards with inscriptions such as “Don’t Kill Our Daddies,” “Detention Without Trial is Injustice,” and “Six Months of Torture: Enough Is Enough.”

Amid tears and trembling voices, the children appealed for justice and access to their detained fathers, many of whom they said they had not seen for months.

The appeal was made during a press briefing in Abuja attended by no fewer than 20 wives and several children of the detained officers, including a two-month-old baby.

The families were accompanied by human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju and activist Omoyele Sowore.

At the briefing, the families lamented that the officers had been held for over 160 days without trial or contact with their relatives, describing the situation as a violation of their fundamental rights.

Speaking on behalf of the families, Memuna Bashiru said the prolonged detention had thrown their households into uncertainty and emotional distress, noting that while allegations had been widely publicised, families remained in the dark about the fate of their loved ones.

The arrest of the indicted officers was first announced on October 4, 2025, by the then Director of Defense Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, who disclosed that 16 officers were taken into custody for alleged breaches of military regulations and acts of indiscipline.

However, an interim investigation later suggested the existence of a clandestine network of officers, allegedly coordinated by a senior Army officer, which had begun preliminary planning for a coup.

According to the report, the alleged plot involved surveillance of key national assets, including the Presidential Villa, Armed Forces Complex, Niger Barracks in Abuja, and major international airports, with October 25, 2025, cited as the planned date for the operation.

Those reportedly in custody include Brig Gen M. A. Sadiq, Col M. A. Maaji, Lt Col S. Bappah, Lt Col A. A. Hayatu, Lt Col P. Dangnap, Lt Col M. Almakura, Maj A. J. Ibrahim, Maj M. M. Jiddah, Maj M. A. Usman, Maj D. Yusuf, Capt I. Bello, Capt A. A. Yusuf, Lt S. S. Felix, Lt Cdr D. B. Abdullahi, Sqn Ldr S. B. Adamu and Maj I. Dauda.

The alleged plot, according to findings, targeted senior government officials, including President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Politics

APC Resumes Electronic Membership Registration Nationwide

Published

4 days ago

April 2, 2026

The Tide

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced the resumption of its electronic membership registration exercise across the country.

In a statement issued yesterday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, said the exercise would take place in all wards and designated centres nationwide.

He called on existing members to update their records, while encouraging new entrants to join the party through the digital platform.

“As the electronic membership registration exercise resumes in all wards and designated locations nationwide, we urge existing members to validate their membership while new members are encouraged to register and join the progressive family,” Mr Morka said.

According to him, eligibility for registration is limited to individuals aged 18 and above who possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN).

The party said the initiative is part of efforts to modernise its operations by transitioning to a digital database that would enhance record accuracy and accessibility.

Mr Morka noted that the e-registration would “digitise the party’s membership register, ensure the integrity of records, and enhance efficient access to membership data for planning and management decisions.”

He added that the move is also aimed at promoting internal democracy within the party and strengthening its commitment to democratic innovation.

The APC had previously introduced electronic registration as part of broader reforms to streamline its membership system and improve organisational efficiency.

Politics

AKPABIO, DIRI, OBOREVWORI, OTHERS VOW TO REELECT TINUBU …AS GIADOM RETAINS APC ZONAL CHAIR

Published

7 days ago

March 30, 2026

The Tide

Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has declared that with the six South-South states now being controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC), the zone is set to return the highest votes cast for the reelection of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

He stated this in Asaba, Delta State, at the party’s zonal congress, noting that the coming together of the governors of the region in the APC was made possible by its zonal Vice Chairman, Chief Victor Giadom.

Senator Akpabio also praised the outgone zonal chieftains of the party, saying they worked hard for the unity of the party and the zone.

“Now that we are complete and focused, we will be the geo-political zone in Nigeria that will turn out the highest votes in 2027 for President Tinubu.

“In the last 46 years or so, our region had not produced a senate president. But under President Tinubu, the South-South region is recognised. We thank the president for giving the South-South a senate president”, he said.

In his speech, the Bayelsa State Governor, and Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, Senator Douye Diri, described the APC adoption of the consensus option for electing its officials as the best way to foster unity and consolidation in the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He expressed satisfaction that politically, the South-South zone now speaks with one voice under the APC, stressing the need for the region to be part of the decision-making process at the national level.

The governor recalled that when he contested for the governorship in 2019, the delegate election process for primaries in the political parties made the exercise rancorous, saying

the slogan then was that without delegates, there will be no governor, but that that has since changed with the consensus mode.

“I like to align myself with the previous speakers on the unity of the South-South zone. In this region politically, the South-South now speaks with one voice. This is important because of the strategic nature of the zone.

“If you are not on the sharing table, in terms of decision-making process, you will be left behind. We need to be united that we will not allow petty divisions among us.

“Let us work together for the unity and protection of APC in the South-South and God willing, all our candidates will come out tops in the 2027 elections. There cannot be anything better than a united family.

“Let me congratulate President Bola Tinubu for his remarkable achievements so far. Political events such as elective congresses like this were usually filled with rancour and violence. But, today, we have adopted the consensus model to produce our party executives from the wards to the regional level”, Senator Diri said.

In their goodwill messages, the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, and others all spoke on unity of purpose to be able to re-elect the President for a second term.

Meanwhile, Chief Victor Giadom was returned as the party’s zonal chairman alongside seven other zonal executives of the party.

Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Emomotimi Guwor, moved the motion for the dissolution of the immediate past zonal executive of the party and was seconded by his Bayelsa State counterpart, Abraham Ingobere.

In his remarks, the reelected zonal Vice Chairman, Chief Victor Giadom, said the gathering of the six governors of the region, lawmakers, ministers and other major stakeholders was an indication of the zone’s commitment to return all APC candidates in next year’s poll.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa