Politics
We Don’t Have Polling Units Without Registered Voters In Akwa Ibom – REC
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini, has disclosed that there are no polling units without registered voters in the state.
Igini made the disclosure weekend while briefing newsmen on activities and preparations being put in place by the Independent National Electoral Commissíon (INEC) ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He explained that the one thousand three hundred and seventy-four (1,374) new polling units in the state created to ease voting on election day are already having people through the ongoing Continous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise.
His words: “On the ongoing CVR the message to the people of Akwa Ibom State, is that those who have not registered before who have just attained the age of 18, this is the opportunity for you to get yourself registered.
We are now on the final phase of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise.
“The good news, following some of the press statement we have issued before with respect to the one thousand three hundred seventy-four (1374) new polling units, is that as at today we do not have zero polling units, without registrants.
“This project 2023 is for all of us, to give meaning and purpose to the ballot as the best means of expression of the will of the people in a democracy”
The Akwa Ibom REC, advised that all stakeholders including permanent and Ad-hoc staff of INEC have a role to play in order to rekindle the faith and confidence of the public in the ballot as the best means of expression of the will of the people in a democracy.
Igini, pointed out that the crisis between party members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the state, due to falsification of the original result of the party’s Congress was exactly what led to the conviction of its Ad-hoc staff during 2019 polls, Professor Peter Ogban, for 3 years.
He wondered how the person who had in the original result scored 006 now scored 1006 and the person who scored 1,278, now scored 278, stressing: “This was the abracadabra that led to a crisis that is completely unnecessary. Our report cannot change.
“May the day never come when an umpire who took an oath to always keep its oath of office will see something in the morning and see something different in the evening. May the day never come when something that we have seen to be white suddenly become black.
“Those who desire the honour of a king, an honour of office must not break the Law of the land. As a Commissíon, since October last year we have not spoken on the matter, because it is a matter for them. They are in Court that is the much I can say with respect to that.
“In respect of INEC Ad-hoc staff, who generated false results and published same in 2019 election, the trial has been ongoing since December 2020 before an Akwa Ibom State high court. The Judge just recused himself at the last sitting.
. “In a democracy, effective power to govern must lie in the hands of those who are duly elected, therefore those whose actions undermine the process must be brought to book”, he asserted.
Asked if INEC feels frustrated over the ongoing trial, Igini said: “Because we are talking about due process we cannot be frustrated. Once you have chosen the path of due process you don’t worry about traffic.
All that we need to do and we have done is to register through a petition to the Chief Judge to chronicle how we got to this point.
“ Justice is three way directional- Justice to the Commissíon, the prosecution, to the accused person and more importantly justice to the society that its rules have been violated.
So what we are interested in, is that justice must be done.
“Five months after the prosecution had closed its case , the accused person have failed to open its defence, coming up with all manners of frivolous objections to avoid opening his defence. I must say that there are limits to some of these Shenanigans.
“ Since 2020 the idea is to frustrate the case so that justice will not be done. The defense Lawyer accused the Judge of bias, without proof, no evidence, or instances where the judge could be accused in the entire trial of bias. Such an accusation must not be taken lightly.
“And where a counsel deploy accusation of bias as a strategy to blackmail a judge, the judge is required to demonstrate the courage in line with the judicial oath to continue with that matter because what he is trying to do is for the case to start afresh”
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has directed his legal team to resume all court proceedings against Mrs. Tracy Ohiri over her repeated allegations of indebtedness and other claims against him.
Mrs Ohiri had publicly accused Senator Umahi of owing her N280 million for campaign materials from his tenure as party chairman in Ebonyi State.
The allegations went viral on social media, where she also accused the Minister of sexual harassment.
Security agencies arrested Mrs Ohiri, and she was subsequently prosecuted. Her lawyer, Barrister Marshall Abubakar, intervened, leading to the deletion of all posts and a public apology, which also gained widespread attention online.
However, days after the apology, Mrs Ohiri resumed her claims against Senator Umahi.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Senator Umahi said he had informed Barrister Abubakar during the intervention that if Mrs Ohiri could provide verifiable evidence, logs, and communications from the period in question, some of his associates were willing to contribute a sum of One Billion Naira (N1billion) to her, evidence which, he said, she had yet to provide.
“The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, has been monitoring the ongoing public discourse surrounding the claims and counterclaims by Mrs. Tracy Ohiri.
“Ordinarily, this would have been ignored, but in the interest of truth and public clarity, it is necessary to address the issues directly”, the statement read.
The statement clarified that Barrister Abubakar acted in good faith and without any financial interest, motivated solely by a desire to assist Mrs Ohiri.
At no point did the lawyer discuss or negotiate any payment with the minister, although some well-meaning associates independently offered support”, the statement added.
Senator Umahi reiterated the conditions for resolving the matter: either the claims must be tested in court, or Mrs Ohiri must provide credible evidence, including all relevant communications, to substantiate her allegations.
The minister emphasised that Barr Abubakar conducted himself with integrity throughout the process.
“Following the failure to meet these conditions, particularly the inability to provide verifiable evidence, the Minister has directed his legal team to proceed with all court processes to ensure the truth is fully established,” the statement said.
Senator Umahi said despite years of public provocations and attacks, he chose to remain silent, focusing on national and state services.
He thanked Nigerians who had taken time to assess the facts and noted that “not everyone who presents themselves as a victim truly is one, and in some cases, narratives are deliberately inverted.”
The Minister affirmed that he will not be distracted by Mrs Ohiri’s allegations and remained committed to his mandate at the Ministry of Works.
“The focus remains on results, service, and ensuring that Nigerians continue to benefit from projects that improve connectivity, economic growth, and national development. This administration will continue to pursue its transformation agenda with dedication, transparency, and an unwavering sense of responsibility,” he concluded.
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned proceedings in a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions.
Justice Stephen Jumbo made the pronouncement during a recent sitting in Port Harcourt.
The suit, which borders on the legitimacy of the party’s leadership structure in the state, was instituted against the factional State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Aaron Chukwuemeka, alongside the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and other respondents.
Also joined in the matter are the PDP as a corporate entity, the Rivers State Government, as well as Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, including their respective Vice Chairmen and Councillors.
The claimants, Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi, approached the court via an originating summons seeking judicial interpretation on the validity of actions taken by the Chief Chukwuemeka-led state executive committee of the party.
Central to the dispute is whether the said executive committee, whose emergence the claimants contend has been nullified by a subsisting court judgment, retains the legal authority to act on behalf of the party in critical electoral matters.
The plaintiffs specifically urged the court to determine whether the factional leadership could validly submit a list of candidates to RSIEC for the purpose of participating in local government elections.
They further questioned the legitimacy of the PDP’s participation in the August 30, 2025 local government elections, contending that any list purportedly submitted by the factional leadership was invalid and of no legal consequence.
In addition to the declaratory reliefs sought, the claimants also prayed the court to grant consequential orders addressing the outcome and conduct of the said elections across the affected local government areas.
At the resumed hearing, counsel representing the PDP and the affected local government councils informed the court that they had only recently been served with the originating processes and accompanying documents.
The defence team, comprising several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), disclosed that service of the court processes was effected on March 13, 2026, leaving them with limited time to adequately prepare their responses.
Consequently, the defence counsel applied for an adjournment to enable them study the processes and address the legal issues raised, particularly as they relate to jurisdictional questions and points of law.
Counsel to the claimants, Glory Chizim-Chinda, did not oppose the application, following which the presiding judge granted the request and adjourned the matter to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions, with a possible ruling expected ahead of the substantive suit.
By: King Onunwor
A former state lawmaker in the old the Rivers State, Professor Alex Eseimokumo, has described Nigerian opposition political parties as mere preposition political parties.
He also advised the country’s electorate against selling their votes during next year’s general elections.
The former legislator, who is also the president of the Institute for Peace, Conflict Resolution and Entrepreneurial Research, said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide on the sidelines of an event organized by the institute in Port Harcourt.
He said opposition political parties in Nigeria have been reduced to preposition political parties as most of them are not only dinning with the government but advising government on what to do to win election.
“The problem in Nigeria is we are not practicing politics the way it is supposed to be.The opposition are more in preposition.
“You see, opposition is supposed to find out things that are wrong in government but in our present day politics, you see opposition even dinning with the other group. So, there is basically nothing like opposition in Nigeria “, he said.
He lamented a situation where some individuals within the opposition are allegedly working hard to prevent their parties from fielding presidential candidates in the forthcoming election, adding that such individuals were only there to protect their personal interest.
Prof. Eseimokumo said as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he could not wish his party to fail in the election, even though nothing is impossible in Nigeria.
He noted that though the government in power has been trying it’s best, there was more to be done.
In his words, “I’m an APC member, so I don’t have the right to criticize my party but a word of advice: we still need to do more, more people oriented leadership where everybody will feel carried along.
“For now, I’m campaigning for APC to be re elected and if I stand here to say APC is not doing well, I’m not being fair to myself. But I think, with God all things are possible, there can be changes”.
On his assessment of the performances of governors of the Niger Delta states, Prof Eseimokumo said the governors were doing well within the limit of their resources.
” I don’t know what is given to them as allocation, but if what we are seeing in terms of window dressing is not window shopping, then they are doing well”, he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Eseimokumo has advised Nigerian electorates against selling their votes during the forthcoming elections.
He said credible election could only be achieved when the electorates refuse financial inducement during the elections.
According to him, though Nigerian voters had been difficult to persuade, the time had come for them to stop selling their votes.
Prof. Eseimokumo said the forthcoming elections will serve as a litmus test for the Nigerian electorate to demonstrate their desire for changes in the country, stressing that free and fair elections will continue to be a mirage in the country until the was a change in the attitude of the electorate.
“If you want your vote to count, don’t take money from anybody; if you want your votes to count, don’t collect money for your vote. The moment you collect money for your vote, you have sold your conscience”, he warned.
He said his institute will continue to work for peace, not just in the Niger Delta region but across Nigeria.
By: John Bibor
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