Politics
Group Demands White Paper On Nigeria’s Restructuring Reports
A group, the June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations has told the Federal Government to issue a white paper for the implementation of various recommendations on the restructuring of Nigeria.
The Acting Chairman of the group, Mr Linus Okoroji, made the call at a news conference in Lagos on Saturday.
He said that Nigeria’s restructuring could be achieved by the government setting up a constituent committee to review and harmonise various national conference reports, including the Pro-National Conference Organisation report.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has convoked conferences repeatedly over the years, in a bid to engender harmony, good governance, equity, unity and progress in the heterogeneous nation but none of the reports has been implemented by the government.
Okoroji said that the June 12 Coalition, which was in the forefront of the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate of late Chief Moshood Abiola, had always insisted on Nigeria’s restructuring.
June 12 has since been recognised by government and signed into law as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
Okoroji, however, said that with Nigeria about to commomerate the June 12 anniversary, there was need to address the real problems confronting the nation which the June 12 mandate had sought to address.
“It is our considered view that restructuring of Nigeria is the true answer to the myriad of challenges besieging the country.
“There are all sorts of crimes all over the place -in the northeast, northwest, north central, southwest, southeast and south south.
“Insurgency, kidnappings, banditry, herdsmen killings, armed robbery, pipelines vandalism and ritual killings, resulting to countless deaths of innocent citizens and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.
“Therefore, we at June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations are left with no option than to insist that only the return to federalism can set Nigeria back to the path of glory, progress, stability and prosperity.
“It will also promote individual citizens, tribal and ethnic liberty, freedom, peace and unity in diversity.”
Okoroji said it would be unfortunate, absurd and bizarre that any individual, group or an ethnic nationality in the 21st century, could be pursuing domination or instigating fear of domination of other individuals, groups or ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
“What will serve common public good is to promote equity and fairness, unity in diversity and provoke healthy competitions among federating units,” he stated.
The activist, however, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for being a pacesetter by recognising June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
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.