Politics
Speaker Harps On Good Conduct
The Rivers State House of Assembly (RVHA) held only one Plenary Session last week.
The Session which was held last Tuesday at the hallowed chamber of the Assembly commenced with the consideration of two separate letters sent to the House by the Governor of the state, Chief Nyesom Wike.
The letters which were read by the Speaker of the Assembly Rt Hon Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani requested the confirmation of Commissioner-nominees submitted to the House in line with Section 192 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Ibani also reads a letter requested the approval of the House for the state Governor to appoint 23 Special Advisers pursuant to Section 196 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
However, the Assembly confirmed all the nominees after grilling them one after the other.
The House also screened and confirmed a one time commissioner in the state, Rodaford LongJohn, whose name was later added to the pack on the floor of the House.
The Assembly further gave its nod to the Governor’s request to appoint 23 Special Advisers to assist him in the running of the affairs of the state.
The commissioner nominees, who made the list include Barrister Emma Okah, Charles Nwogu, Walter Ibibia, Dr Tamunosis Gogo-Jaja, Ukel Oyaghiri and Isaac Kamalu.
The rest are Damiete Albert Miller, Boma Iyaye, Emeka Onowu, Prof Princewill Chike, Elder Tasie Chinedu Nwobueze, Barrister Sylvanus Nwankwo and Kaniye Ebeku.
Meanwhile, Okah, Ibibia, Oyaghiri and Kamalu were former Commissioners for Housing, Water Resources, Women Affairs and Budget and Economic Planning respectively.
Similarly, Ebeku, Iyaye, Miller and Onowu were also in Wike’s former Cabinet.
Speaking after the confirmation session, the Speaker said the lawmakers acted in compliance with the provision of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
He directed the Clerk of the House, Chief Standford Oba to forward letters of confirmation and approval to the office of the state Governor for Swearing-in.
At the same plenary, Ibani warned that the Assembly leadership would no longer tolerate unguarded utterances of any member likely rubbish the name of the 8th Assembly in the state.
He said, the House by next its plenary session, will restructure House Committee on Ethics and privileges to carry out its over-sight function on any member who drags the name of the Assembly in the mud.
Last Friday, the House Committee on Information denied allegations by an APC Chieftain in Emohua Local Government Area, Mr Mtata Mtata that each PDP member in the Assembly collected N30 million from Governor Nyesom Wike to clear the 13 Commissioner-nominees recently screened in the House.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Samuel Ogeh said the insinuation was baseless and larked substance.
Ogeh, who also the lawmaker representing Emohua Constituency said Mtata should not be taken seriously, explaining that the APC Chieftain was only making nosie to make himself relevant to APC leadership.
He said there was no time any member of the legislative arm collected money from any person to screen and clear any appointee by the state governor.
The Assembly’s Information Chairman further explained that screening and confirmation of nominees are statutory legislative that do not require financial inducement of any kind.
According to him, the Commissioner-nominees were duly screened in accordance with the provision of the law and the House was divided with majority of the lawmakers including APC lawmakers to confirm and clear the nominees as commissioner designates.
He called on the general public to disregard the allegation, saying the APC leader in Emohua does not understand anything about legislative business.
Enoch Epelle
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.