Politics
RSG Moves To Complete Construction Of Mile I Market
Last week, Government House was full of activities as
Governor Nyesom Wike hosted federal agencies and ministries and also took out time to visit projects and laid foundation for new ones.
Last Monday, Governor Wike laid the foundation stone for the new Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Secretariat Complex located at the city’s Central Business District, opposite the Port Harcourt City Local Government office.
Wike explained that the state government resolved to construct a new Law Centre for the NBA because of its commitment to enhancing law practice in the state.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Ndowa Lale and his team paid courtesy call on Governor Wike on Tuesday. The governor used the visit to alert the VC of the plan by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the upcoming re-run election results through-compromised returning officers. He, however, said he would-support the school’s programmes and activities as a former alumnus.
Shortly after the VC left with his team, the governor hosted the Zone 6 Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSCN). Wike, while soliciting for the support of the federal agency in controlling and managing traffic in the state, disclosed plans by his administration to reorganize the state owned Road Traffic Management Agency (TIMARIV).
The governor announced the donation of a tow van and three traffic vans to the state command of the FRSC to further improve on their services to the state.
Immediately after hosting his visitors, Governor Wike proceeded on to outside engagements as he inspected the spate of work on the Igwuruta-Chokocho Road. He urged the people to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in the re-run elections as that is the only way to consolidate development in the area.
On Wednesday, the governor played host to the Senate Committee on Niger Delta. The team was led by the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and accompanied by the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs Ibim Semenitari.
Calling on the Committee to take audits of the various projects executed by the NDDC, Governor Wike underscored the need for states to make inputs, so that projects are not duplicated, for the best interest of the region.
As usual, the weekly State Executive Council held on Wednesday, with the governor presiding. After the meeting, the state Commissioner and Communications, Dr Austin Tam-George briefed newsmen on the outcome of the meeting. The Commissioner for Information informed newsmen about the state government’s plans to revitalize the teaching of mother tongues in Schools and its plan to align government programmes in tandem with the expectation of the citizenry.
On Thursday, Governor Wike laid foundation stone for the second phase of the Mile 1 Market complex in Diobu, Port Harcourt. The market which was gutted by fire in 2013 was abandoned by the previous administration and with traders facing hardship due to lack of stalls. But the governor promised that the market would be expanded to check trading on the road side.
On leaving the site of the Mile 1 Market after laying the foundation, Wike proceeded to see the level of work at the Woji/Akpajo Link Road. He urged the contractor to expedite work on the second bridge expected to link Woji East-West Road through Akpajo.
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.
-
Opinion3 days ago
Ancestorial Worship: My Take (1)
-
News8 hours ago
Customs Partners EFCC, NDLEA, Others To Tackle Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing
-
News8 hours agoFresh Ebola Scare As NCDC Records Two Cases
-
News3 days agoFG Must Address Nigerians’ Concerns On Reforms -Shettima …Warns Against Misuse of AI, Social Media
-
Niger Delta7 hours ago
PANDEF Seeks 50% Oil Derivation Allocation Increase
-
Rivers5 hours ago
Don Seeks Repositioning Of Tech Education For Dev
-
Education6 hours agoPAMO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY -Nullifies Arrest warrant on VC
-
Education6 hours agoIAUE MOVES TO END GHOST WORKERS SYNDROME AS 400 NEW NON-TEACHING STAFF UNDERGO MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING