Politics
Yar’Adua Centre Identifies Govt, Citizens Relations Challenges
There is distrust between the Nigerian government across all levels and the citizens, says Muttaqa Rabe-Darma, the president of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Human Development Centre.
Rabe-Darma disclosed this in Katsina during the 13th Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Day Memorial Lecture, organised by the ‘Katsina State First Youth’, Fix Under Grassroots Aids Initiative.
According to him, functional governmental systems require a trustworthy leader who exploits an all-inclusive government, considering all stakeholders as part of the decision-making body.
He noted that it also required appreciating people’s functionality and ability, irrespective of whether they acquired knowledge and skills formally or distinctly.
“Therefore, governments took a large chunk of responsibility for societal decay. Unlike what Islam teaches, leadership is no longer based on trust. The leaders and those they lead no longer trust one another,” Mr Rabe-Darma explained, adding “Islamic provisions on leadership emphasised that leaders should be trustworthy, transparent and accountable.”
The Yar’Adua Centre boss also mentioned that one way to ensure followers’ trust in leaders “is to appreciate that leadership comes with self-responsibility, responsibility to the general public and importantly, to Allah (SWA).”
Mr Rabe-Darma described the late president and former Katsina State Governor as an excellent transformational leader.
He said the late president exhibited commitment and dedication towards transforming the state as the governor of Katsina and also had plans to move Nigeria to a greater level.
He explained that Mr Yar’Adua left legacies in the state that would never be forgotten in the history of Kataina, saying that he was a leader worth imitating.
Mr Rabe-Darma added that the Islamic principle of governance is the best system and model that would make the state governing system workable and curb its multiple challenges.
He acknowledged the need for a new leader-follower model based on Islamic leadership principles to be embraced by the incoming government to succeed.
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.