Politics
Suswam Wants Politicians, Leaders To Spend Time In Prison
Senator Gabriel Suswam (Benue East) has suggested that some leaders and politicians should be allowed to spend a day or two in prison to be better leaders and politicians.
Suswam made this suggestion last Tuesday at the plenary while contributing to a motion moved by Sen. Uche Ekwunife (Anambra Central) on ‘The need to upgrade, decongest and disinfect Correctional Centres nationwide.‘
“I want to strongly support this motion based on my personal experience of what I saw, and when I left, I recommended that for people to be proper leaders in this country, at least each and every one of us must spend one or two days in prison, we would be better human beings.
“Mr President, they took me there in the night, and the following day, which was morning, the entire prison knew that I was there.
“Mr President it might interest you to know that most of the people who spend years in prison are for a misdemeanour that you can even dismiss.
“A young man spent 7years in jail for just a problem of N10, 000, various individuals were there on very minor offences that the police could afford to correct them and send them home.
“I made it a point of duty when I left that place, for the next month, I took close to twenty of those young people out of that place.
“It didn’t take anything, it was just to pay that money and take them back to court.
“I selected about three lawyers, sent them to Kuje prison to go and attend to them, and about 20 of them were taken out.
“So, I think that I want to support the motion, because most of the people who are there do not need to be there, and they unduly congest the place”.
Suswam decried the poor state of hygiene in the correctional Centres, pointing out that they were breeding grounds for various forms of unthinkable diseases and crimes.
According to him, “when it comes to the issue of disinfecting the place, Mr President, God forbid that this COVID-19 infects any of these correctional centres in the country, Mr President it would be a calamity.
”The environment in any of the prisons here, Mr President you would be shocked if you go there; we need to as a matter of urgency ask the authorities responsible to address the issue raised in this motion with the urgency it deserves.
“So, we can be seen as a country ready to correct people rather than sending people to go and die or become more hardened,”he said
The former governor pointed out that in some parts of the world wealthy individuals and companies build correctional centres and work in collaboration with the government.
He said “in developed climes, individuals or companies build prisons and maintain them to the highest standards and government takes care of what is needed to be taken care of.
“So, let us encourage individuals who are wealthy or companies that want to engage in that business to begin to build prisons, and maintain them and give them standards, so, we will not have the situation of congestion.”
Sen. Suswam, a former governor of Benue is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged N3.1 billion fraud and spent 2 days in Kuje prison.
Alhaji Mohammed Kasim, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has won the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Philip Akpeni, the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the results on Sunday morning.
Alhaji Kasim polled 22,165 votes to defeat Alhaji Yahaya Shehu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 17,788 votes.
Alhaji Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) scored 1, 687 to come in third place.
“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026,” Akpeni said.
“That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Maikalangu, the APC candidate, was declared the winner of the chairmanship poll with 40,295 votes.
Andrew Abue, the Collation Officer for AMAC, said Hon. Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 3,398 votes.
According to Abue, the total number of valid votes in the chairmanship poll was 62,861, while the total votes cast stood at 65,197.
He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Joshua Ishaku of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Bwari Area Council Chairmanship election.
Announcing the result on Sunday in Bwari, the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Mohammed Nurudeen, stated that Ishaku polled a total of 18,466 votes to emerge victorious in the February 21, 2026 poll.
“I am the Returning Officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Bwari chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026. That Joshua Ishaku, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Nurudeen said.
According to the results declared, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured 4,254 votes, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) polled 3,515 votes to place second and third respectively.
The declaration adds to the series of results emerging from the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, as political parties assess their performance ahead of future contests.
INEC UPLOADS 2,602 OF 2,822 FCT CHAIRMANSHIP RESULTS ON IReV
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had uploaded 2,602 out of the 2,822 expected polling unit results from Saturday’s chairmanship elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as at 5:55am on Sunday, data retrieved from its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) showed.
According to The Tide source, the figure represents an overall upload rate of about 92.2 per cent across the six area councils of the territory.
A council-by-council breakdown indicates that Municipal Area Council recorded the highest number of submissions in absolute terms, with 1,309 of 1,401 polling unit results uploaded, representing 93.43 per cent.
In Gwagwalada Area Council, 330 of the expected 338 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 97.63 per cent — the highest upload rate among the six councils.
In Bwari Area Council, INEC uploaded 463 of 485 polling unit results, translating to 95.46 per cent.
In Abaji Area Council, 129 of 135 polling unit results had been uploaded as at 5:55am, representing 95.56 per cent.
In Kwali Area Council, 164 of the expected 201 polling unit results were available on the portal, representing 81.59 per cent.
In Kuje Area Council, 207 of 262 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 79.01 per cent — the lowest rate among the six councils as at the time of review.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group described the swift assent as a clear demonstration of political will to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We see the decision by President Bola Tinubu to sign the reworked 2022 Electoral Act into law within a few hours of its passage as a demonstration of political will to ensure an improved electoral process which the new law envisages,” the group said.
The TMSG expressed confidence that the development would enable the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to quickly align its operations with the new provisions in preparation for the 2027 polls.
The group noted that the provision for electronic transmission of results had been contentious but described its codification in the law as a significant step forward.
“So, for the first time, the country’s electoral law would be recognising the use of the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the result viewing portal, IREV, which were just INEC guidelines in 2023,” it stated.
According to the TMSG, although the Act provides for electronic transmission of results from polling units to the IREV portal, it also makes room for manual transmission of Form EC8A result sheets as a backup in the event of technological failure.
“Unlike some Nigerians, we do not see anything wrong with the fallback plan but we agree with the President that no matter how beautiful a process is with improved technology, the onus lies on the people manning it to show good faith and ensure that the votes of the people really count at the end of the day,” the statement added.
The group highlighted other key provisions in the amended law, including the streamlining of party primaries to either consensus or direct primaries, early release of funds to INEC, reinforced measures against over-voting, and stiffer sanctions for electoral offences such as falsification of results.
It also pointed out that the mandatory notice period for elections has been reduced from 360 days to 300 days, giving INEC more flexibility in adjusting the timetable for the 2027 elections, especially where it may clash with Ramadan.
The TMSG further observed that the President’s decision to sign the bill days before the forthcoming Area Council Election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) underscores his desire for the law to take immediate effect.
“And by signing the amendment bill a few days before the Area Council Election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is obvious that the President is keen on ensuring that the 2026 Electoral Act takes immediate effect.
“Nigerians would also have an opportunity to see some of the key provisions of the new electoral law become operational, especially the electronic transmission of results,” it said.
The group expressed optimism that the current INEC leadership would leverage the new legal framework to deliver a more credible and widely acceptable electioneering process than in previous electoral cycles.
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