Politics
I Won’t Congratulate Buhari On Electoral Act – Onaiyekan
The Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has expressed satisfaction with the signing of the new Electoral Act, saying it will make it easy for the country to prepare for the 2023 general elections.
He, however, wondered why it had to take street protests for President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the bill in such a manner as if he was doing Nigerians a favour.
Speaking to journalists during the dedication of the Holy Cross Catholic Church, Gwarinpa, in Abuja, Onaiyekan said that it was the responsibility of the president to sign the Electoral Act, adding that there was no need congratulating the President for doing his job.
The cleric stressed the need to put in place things that would make elections in the country better than before.
He said, “We are so used to things being done badly that whenever anybody does the right thing, it will be like something has happened that we have never heard before.
“It is the duty of the President to sign the Electoral Bill, he had seven years to do it, we had to embark on street protest before he finally signed it as if he was doing us a favour. He is not doing us any favour, it is his duty to sign it. I don’t think I am one of those who will congratulate him for doing a good thing.
We were in the same situation when former President Jonathan, having found that he lost the election conceded defeat and people were saying oh this is wonderful but that is what he should do, that is the normal thing, but in this country we are so used to things being done wrongly.
“Anyway, thank you Mr President for signing the Electoral Bill into law because it is making it easy to prepare for the next election, we need to put in place things that will make our elections better than before.” he said.
Onaiyekan said that the persistent fuel crisis in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country was a mystery, adding that it was not possible that millions of litres of bad fuel were allowed into country and nobody had been held responsible.
“There are too many things you cannot understand in this country and you don’t hear the truth, I am not convinced about any of the stories that I am hearing because this kind of thing should not happen, it is not possible that millions of liters of bad fuel is allowed to fill our nation and nobody has so far been held responsible,” he added.
In other countries, you would have been hearing people resigning or being arrested, instead, our cars are knocking and nobody is paying us for it. It is part of the Nigerian situation that things are not working well. Our country can be better than this. Somebody should be held responsible.”
Also speaking, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama urged the Federal government to act promptly and stop the ongoing fuel scarcity because Nigerians were suffering.
He said that the worsening Russia-Ukraine war situation was a failure in human compassion and the consequence of failure to listen to the voice of reasoning and called on the parties concerned to listen to the voice of reasoning and stop the war.
In his remarks, the Parish Priest and the Vicar, Pastoral Affairs for the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Rev. Fr Rowland Nwakpuda pointed out that the event was a reminder of the Parish humble beginning, saying sacrifice and efforts pay off.
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor
