Politics
Govs, Deputies Conflict: APC Mulls National Confab
As part of measures to eliminate conflicts between governors and their deputies, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday, said it was considering organising a national conference to that effect.
National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with the Forum of Former Deputy Governors.
Noting that the position of deputy governor is the most controversial across the world and especially in Nigeria where they are referred to as ‘spare tyres’, Ganduje, himself a one-time deputy governor who later became governor, said any driver who does not maintain his spare tyre would be stranded when he needs it most.
He said; “There is no doubt the position of the Deputy Governor is the most controversial position in governance, not only in Nigeria but all over the world. Except in some nations where governors can contest in their own parties and the deputies can contest in another party, win the election and they work together. In Nigeria, it has to be the same ticket.
“The position of the Deputy Governor as I always say is the most controversial position. That is why God has no deputy. Everybody is a servant. It is a no go area. But we as humans, the constitution has to provide for it as a spare tyre and we all know the importance of a spare tyre. If you don’t need it when you are normal, then you will need it when you are in trouble.
“Deputy Governors will have to contend with one issue: the issue of sycophancy. As I always say, it is very easy to get it right as far as his boss is concerned. What I was trying to say was that our position was faced with difficulties. When you are walking with a governor, if you are walking so that you are going side by side, so that if he talks to you, you can hear him, and you talk to him he can hear you, sycophants would say you are rubbing shoulders. If you are in the front and there is any accident, or dangerous elements even snakes, and you say let it bite you first before biting your principal, sycophants would say you have overtaken him. If you respect your principal and you stay behind, let him go front, sycophants would say you are developing a lukewarm attitude, therefore you are retreating.
write a book. Even up till now, that problem is still on. In fact, if it persists, we are trying to organize a national conference on the relationship between Governors and their Deputies”.
Earlier, Chairman of the forum and former Deputy Governor of Abia State, Chris Alozie Akomas, demanded a review of the APC Constitution to accommodate deputy governors as members of the party’s National Executive Committee NEC.
The forum consequently prayed for Ganduje to succeed in an environment it said is filled with banana peels.
“We want to pray with you so that God will take away the banana peels because we know the enormous responsibilities that go with the office of a national chairman, not to talk of the national chairman of a ruling party”, he stated .
Some of the former deputy governors on the visit were Abdulmalik Mahmood (Bauchi), Barr. Muktari Shehu Shagari (Sokoto), Dame Pauline Tallen (Plateau), Ali Abubakar Jatau (Borno), Prince Eze Madumere (Imo), Moses Alake Adeyemi (Oyo), Abdullahi Tijani Gwarzo (Kano) and the National Organizing Secretary of the APC, Sulaiman Argungu (Kebbi).
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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