Politics
Make Yourselves Relevant In Politics, Council Boss Challenges Women
The Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Council of Rivers State, Hon. Hope Ikiriko, has challenged women in the country to make themselves relevant in the social, political and economic development efforts in Nigeria.
According to him, the expected spate and scope of development of the country could not be achieved until women were adequately engaged in the leadership structure of the country at all levels.
Hon. Ikiriko made the assertion in his office at Akinima, headquarters of the LGA, while playing host to a non governmental organization, the Niger Delta Non-violence Agitators Forum (NDAF) who paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday.
He said that the country would continue to shortchange itself as long as women were relegated to the background in political leadership and called on the female gender to take advantage of their number and assert themselves with a view to making the required changes that will give the country a fresh lease of life.
The grassroots politician admonished women to change their attitude towards their fellow women, noting that the ugly narrative of women marginalization will not change if they did not learn to accept and defend their own against men who tend to belittle and disregard them.
The two term council chairman and former state legislator encouraged women to aquire capacity and competence through high level education and other self development efforts in order to favourably compete with the men in politics.
He appreciated former Governor Nyesom Wike for the policy that made women vice chairmen of the 23 local government councils in the state and expressed the hope that they will leverage on the opportunity to climb to the top soon.
The Council Chairman, who expressed delight with the composition and mission of NDAF, commended the group for its vision, reiterating that only non violent agitations based on knowledge, tact and diplomacy was capable of ushering in the needed development of the Niger Delta region.
Hon. Ikiriko pointed out that superior argument rather than the force of arms was what compelled the Federal Government to defer to the youths of the region in their agitation for development.
He, therefore, urged the youths to completely shun violence and stay on the cause of dialogue in constantly engaging with the oil multinationals and the government for economic, social and environmental justice for the people of the region.
Opaka Dokubo
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.
-
Opinion5 days ago
Ancestorial Worship: My Take (1)
-
Education2 days agoPAMO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY -Nullifies Arrest warrant on VC
-
Niger Delta2 days ago
PANDEF Seeks 50% Oil Derivation Allocation Increase
-
Rivers1 day ago
Don Seeks Repositioning Of Tech Education For Dev
-
Education2 days agoIAUE MOVES TO END GHOST WORKERS SYNDROME AS 400 NEW NON-TEACHING STAFF UNDERGO MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING
-
News2 days agoFresh Ebola Scare As NCDC Records Two Cases
-
News2 days ago
Customs Partners EFCC, NDLEA, Others To Tackle Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing
-
News5 days agoFG Must Address Nigerians’ Concerns On Reforms -Shettima …Warns Against Misuse of AI, Social Media