News
2019 Polls Sequence: Senate Writes CJN Over Court Order
The Senate yesterday, wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen to caution his judges and ask them to respect the principles of separation of powers.
According to the Senate, Onnoghen must caution his judicial officers of the need to defend the institutions and democracy.
The resolution of the Senate was sequel to a point of Order raised by the Senate Minority leader, Godswill Akpabio, who drew the attention of the Senate to reports in the newspapers on the injunction obtained to stop the National Assembly from taking further actions on the amendment of the Electoral Act.
The Senate took the position at plenary following the decision of an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, which last Wednesday, restrained the National Assembly from taking any further action on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which President Muhammadu Buhari declined to assent to, pending the determination of a suit that was filed before it by Accord Party.
The court, in a ruling delivered by Justice Ahmed Mohammed, ordered all the parties to maintain status quo antebellum, “at least between now and the next adjourned date”.
Justice Mohammed had invoked Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which he said empowered the court to protect the Res (subject matter) of the substantive suit pending before it.
Recall that the Senate had on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, approved an amendment to the electoral process which places the Presidential as the last of the elections to be conducted in the country while that of the National Assembly election will hold first, followed by gubernatorial and state Houses of Assembly polls.
With this arrangement, it became very clear that President Muhammadu Buhari and other presidential candidates in the 2019 general elections may be made to walk on tight rope to get elected.
The bill had been passed and concurred with by the two chambers of the National Assembly and in the process of being forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
Also recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had last Tuesday, written the Senate, declining assent to the new amendment to the Electoral Act, which seeks to re-order the sequence of the polls during general elections.
Buhari, in a letter to the Senate and read by Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki at plenary, last Tuesday, said that it became imperative for him to withhold assent to the bill because it will infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution.
According to the President in the letter dated 8th March, 2018, the Senate and the National Assembly in general got it wrong in the amendment to Section 138 of the principal act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, has limited the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process.
Buhari told the Senate that he vetoed the amendment especially that of Section 152 Subsection ( 3)-(5) of the Principal Act because it raises Constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections.
Buhari’s letter is entitled, “Presidential Decision to decline Assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2018”.
The two-page letter read: “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision, on 3rd March, 2018, to decline Presidential Assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill 2018, recently passed by the National Assembly.
“Some of my reasons include the following: The amendment to the sequence of elections in Section 25 of the principal act, may infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution;
“The amend to Section 138 of the principal act to delete two crucial grounds upon which an election may be challenged by candidates, unduly limits the rights of candidates in elections to a free and fair electoral review process;
“The amendment to Section 152 Subsection ( 3)-(5) of the Principal Act may raise Constitutional issues over the competence of the National Assembly to legislate over local government elections.
“Please accept, Distinguished Senators, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
-
Sports2 days ago
CAFCL : Rivers United Arrives DR Congo
-
Sports2 days ago
FIFA rankings: S’Eagles drop Position, remain sixth in Africa
-
Sports2 days ago
NPFL club name Iorfa new GM
-
Sports2 days ago
NNL abolishes playoffs for NPFL promotion
-
Sports2 days ago
Kwara Hopeful To Host Confed Cup in Ilorin
-
Sports2 days ago
NSF: Early preparations begin for 2026 National Sports Festival
-
Sports2 days ago
RSG Award Renovation Work At Yakubu Gowon Stadium
-
Sports2 days ago
RSG Pledges To Develop Baseball