Politics
Senate, Reps Endorse Emergency Rule In Rivers, As Akpabio Shuts Down Dickson
The House also made recommendations to the proclamation.
The House recommended that a national committee should be set up to mitigate and restore peace to Rivers State.
Secondly, that the National Assembly should take over the activities of the state Assembly within six months.
At the upper chamber, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage after a closed-door session that lasted over one hour.
According to him, the Senate relied on its Orders 133, 134, 135 and 136.
Earlier, Senator Akpabio disclosed that President Tinubu had written the Senate a letter of proclamation on the six-month suspension he slammed on Gov Fubara.
The letter read, aloud at plenary by Sen. Akpabio, said: “In compliance with the provisions of Section 305, Subsection 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, I hereby forward, for the Constitution of the Senate, copies of the official Gazette of the State of Emergency Proclamation 2025.
“The main features of the proclamation are as follows:
“A declaration of a State of Emergency in one State of the Federation, namely, River State;
“The suspension from office of the Governor, his Deputy, and all members of the State House of Assembly;
“An appointment of Vice-Admiral Ibokete Ibas, as the Administrator to administer the State subject to any instruction or regulation as made from time to time be issued by me;
“While I look forward to the expeditious Constitution of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
Sen. Akpabio, after reading the letter, said: “This letter is committed to the Committee of the entire Senate for Immediate passage.”
Immediately after the letter, Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West) raised a point of Order 133 that has to do with having a closed-door session.
Also, Senator Dickson heatedly argued during plenary over the provision of Senate rules regarding the handling of President Tinubu’s state of emergency declaration in Rivers State.
During the Senate plenary, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi moved a motion to reorder the Order Paper to allow the Senate to handle the debate on the state of emergency in Rivers before other motions itemized for legislative action.
As Sen. Bamidele stood to point out the order, Sen. Dickson raised a point of order, which the Senate president was hesitant to oblige.
Rather than giving Sen. Dickson the floor, Sen. Akpabio reminded him of how the former Governor of Bayelsa State had gone on television to say he wouldn’t support the Senate on the state of emergency in Rivers.
While Sen. Dickson insisted on getting Sen. Akpabio’s attention through a point of order, the Senate President asked him to put off his mic.
Sen. Akpabio said, “Senator Seriake Dickson, let’s not argue. If we argue, it won’t be good for any of us.
“We are all distinguished people. You were a former governor, and I was a former governor. Please turn off your mic and sit down. I watched you on television. You said whatever the Senate does, the Senate will never go with you.
“I said you said whatever the Senate does, the Senate will never have your vote.
“I don’t know, but if you have already made up your mind to go on television when the Senate has not done anything or considered any issue, I am not arguing with you, but I say, please allow me to preside.”
Reacting, Sen. Dickson said, “Mr. Senate President, you know we must have mutual respect for all our colleagues. And I do have regard for you, particularly, as our presiding officer and I think that should be reciprocal.”
He maintained that his point of order was to draw the senators’ attention to the provision requiring them to break into a closed-door meeting first.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”
-
Politics3 days agoBuhari Administration Originated Fake PFIPC, Budget Office Tells Reps
-
Rivers3 days agoNBA Set To Inaugurate New National Executive In PH
-
Politics3 days agoCHRISTIAN FORUM PASSES CONFIDENCE VOTE ON TINUBU, WIKE, OTHERS
-
Politics3 days agoTinubu Felicitates Umahi @63, Says Works Minister Outstanding
-
Business3 days ago$50m Steel Pipe Facility: NCDMB Lauds Brentex, Assures Industry Patronage
-
Editorial3 days agoImproving Surveillance in Rivers’ Boundary Communities
-
Politics3 days agoHow I Paved Way For Other Govs To Join APC — Eno
-
Politics3 days agoSpeak For Yourself, Otti Tells Uzodimma Over Tinubu’s Reelection Bid