Politics
Quality Assurance Agency Bill Suffer’s Setback
A bill seeking to establish the Rivers State Quality Assurance Agency has suffered another setback at the floor of the Statehouse of Assembly.
The bill which was the only item on the order paper for the lawmaker deliberation on Monday’s plenary session, could not sail through when majority of the members adduced several reasons to terminate adduced the centinuation of the bill.
Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, ruled that since the leader who presented the executive bill has tractically requested for its withdrawal and majority are opposed to it, the leader should be allowed to repackaged the bill for fresh presentation.
Hon Amachree opined that since members have agreed that the bill needs “surgical operation” the House leader should therefore liaise with the executive arm to fineturn the bill before its re-entry into the chamber.
Contributing to the debate, Hon. Chidi Lloyd and leader of the House, urged the lawmakers to take a deep breath to study the bill carefully, stressing that similar provisions in the bill are contained in the education law already passed and assented to.
Hon. Lloyed noted that the ministry of Education needs to explain the intentment of the bill to enable the law itself pass quality assurance rather than to do the ritual of passing through the process.
Hon Fredrick Anabaraba representing Akuku Toru constituency II, said the bill as drafted does not contain any quality provision rather contains duplication, pointing out that the bill should not fix school fees and salary of private school staff for the proprietors.
The lawmaker representing Etche constituency II, Hon. Golden Chioma, argued that the bill negates the principle of free enterprise, noting that the Assembly does not have the powers to fix salaries and school fees.
He remarked that the bill needs “surgical operation” to enable it conform with democratic norms, while Hon. Godstime Horsfall, Asari-Toru constituency II, said the bill needs repackaging because there are ambiguities which do not have anything to add to the education laid.
On his part, Hon Martin Amaewuale Obio/Akpor constituency I,submitted that there is need to give the bill a chance after purging it of existing contradictions to avoid arbitrariness.
The Deputy leader Hon. Nname Ewor, noted that modern trend in education shows a shift from western to modern education, stressing that quality assurance law will cure the existing lapses.
He posited that the perfect arm of the bill is to create an Agency that would produce the child that will face the challenges of today squarely.
It would be recalled that the bill suffered similar fate during the first session of the seventh Assembly, when it died at the committee report stage.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disclose and publish political contribution limits prescribed under the Electoral Act, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
SERAP made the demand in a statement signed and released by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, addressed to the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, yesterday.
The organisation said the demand was particularly important ahead of the 2027 elections, noting that INEC had already released the Notice of Election and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the polls.
The organisation urged INEC “to urgently disclose whether the Commission has exercised its statutory power to prescribe limits on political contributions under section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026, and, if so, to publish the applicable limits and widely communicate them to political parties, candidates, donors and the Nigerian public.”
SERAP also asked the electoral commission to disclose the systems, personnel and procedures it had put in place to monitor, investigate and enforce compliance with political contribution and campaign expenditure limits during the ongoing preparations for the 2027 elections.
It further urged INEC to disclose its methodology for monitoring political financing, including arrangements for identifying and addressing cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social-media financing, third-party expenditure and donations through intermediaries that could potentially circumvent statutory limits.
SERAP said greater transparency was necessary to ensure that the 2027 elections were conducted on a level playing field and that voters were able to make free and informed political choices.
In the request, the organisation said, “INEC’s constitutional responsibility is not simply to receive financial statements from political parties. The Constitution requires the Commission to examine political-party finances, conduct necessary investigations and report to the National Assembly. Publishing these reports would enable Nigerians to know whether these constitutional and statutory responsibilities have been effectively discharged.
“The increasing monetisation of Nigeria’s elections, alongside the potential misuse of state institutions, poses serious threats to democratic integrity and electoral competition. The information requested would enable citizens to identify excessive, undisclosed or potentially illicit political financing before it can distort electoral competition, rather than only after votes have been cast.”
It said political parties, candidates and their supporters were already mobilising resources, soliciting contributions, organising political activities, purchasing media and digital advertising, holding rallies and incurring campaign-related expenditure.
SERAP, therefore, urged INEC to disclose how it intended to monitor political financing during the campaign period, particularly contributions and expenditure involving cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social-media advertising, political consultants and third-party campaign expenditure.
The organisation also cited Section 91(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which provides that: “The Commission shall have power to place limitation on the amount of money or other assets which an individual can contribute to a political party or candidate and to demand such information on the amount donated and source of the funds. Section 91(2) provides sanctions where an individual, candidate or political party exceeds the applicable limit prescribed by INEC. The statutory power given to INEC creates an important safeguard against excessive financial influence over political parties and candidates.”
SERAP urged INEC to clarify whether it had exercised the power and, if so, immediately publish the applicable contribution limits in a prominent and easily accessible location, including on its website.
The organisation also requested the latest detailed statements by political parties on their assets and liabilities, sources of funds and other assets and expenditure submitted to INEC.
It asked the commission to publish the parties’ financial records, including annual statements, audited accounts and election expenditure returns for 2023–2025, as well as its examination and audit reports under Sections 225 and 226 and annual reports submitted to the National Assembly within the same period.
“Nigeria has a persistent problem of political parties failing to disclose campaign contributions. Such non-compliance has been described as systemic, while the absence of clear and effective sanctions for default has weakened INEC’s ability to enforce compliance.
“Nigeria has long faced serious challenges in regulating political finance, including concerns about excessive campaign spending, opaque sources of political funding, weak disclosure and reporting, and limited enforcement of statutory spending and contribution rules”, the organisation added.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this when he received the Chargé d’Affaires of the Canadian High Commission to Nigeria, Mr David Sproule, and other officials on a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Prof. Amupitan said the exercise would provide an opportunity for the Commission to conduct a rigorous field test of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other critical electoral equipment ahead of the general elections.
He explained that the mock accreditation was designed to identify and address possible operational and technical challenges before the 2027 polls.
According to him, the Commission is determined to build on the lessons learnt from recent off-cycle elections in strengthening its operational readiness and improving the electoral process.
The INEC chairman said the November exercise would form part of broader measures aimed at ensuring the Commission is adequately prepared to conduct credible, transparent and efficient general elections in 2027.