Politics
Nyako, Deputy To Face Probe Panel Today
The seven man
investigative panel set up to investigate the allegation of gross misconduct leveled against Adamawa State Governor, Murtala H Nyako and his Deputy, Bala James Ngilari by the House of Assembly has proceeded with the conduct of its work, unruffled by developments in Abuja.
The proceedings were brief and saw to the dispatch of three invitation letters to all the parties involved. The parties are Nyako, Ngilari and the Adamawa State House of Assembly.
The panel ordered that since Governor Nyako was not in town and the Government House remained sealed, the governor’s invitation letter be pasted on the Government House gate which has since been done.
Deputy Governor Bala James Ngilari was served in his office and the letter was received by the office secretary. The Assembly clerk has also received the House’s letter of invitation.
The invitation ordered the governor, the deputy governor and the State House of Assembly to appear before it at the venue of the proceeding which is the Usman Iya Medical and Health Workers of Nigeria House located on Gibson Jalo way, Army Barracks Road, Jimeta, Yola.
By the invitation, the panel has directed that all the parties involved appear by 2:00 pm.
Meanwhile, Security operatives at the residence of Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, last Wednesday prevented a member of the panel from delivering the invitation letter.
The panel secretary, Binanu R. Esthon, told newsmen that when all attempts to deliver the letter to Nyako failed, the panel members met and directed that the letter should be pasted on his gate.
“If you go to the governor’s house now you will see the invitation letter pasted on his gate, the deputy governor’s secretary received the letter on behalf of his boss”, he stated.
Esthon said that the panel would commence full sitting today since the governor and his deputy had been served with their letters of invitation.
However, Nyako has expressed confidence that he would survive the ongoing impeachment move against him, insisting that he won’t resign.
Nyako’s political trauma got worsened last week when the High Court sitting in Yola presided over by the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mammadi, dismissed his application, asking it to stop the lawmakers from continuing with the impeachment process.
All the 25 members of the Adamawa House of Assembly are in the PDP, but five of them did not sign the impeachment notice.
In his ruling, Mammadi said that Nyako’s application lacked constitutional backing, pointing out that the Assembly members fully complied with all the sections under Section 188 of the 1999 constitution as amended.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the launch of the Presidential Safe School Initiative aimed at providing conducive and safe environment for school children in the North East, Nyako remained upbeat about his chances of surviving the ongoing impeachment proceedings against him.
His appearance at the Presidential Villa was the second in two days since the battle to remove him began. He had also attended the Council of State meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan in the Villa last Tuesday.
Nyako, who claimed that the state was calm, noted that since the issue was before the court, he expected the lawmakers to obey the rules in anything they do.
He said, “Well, it is in the court and the court said it was not well done. We are hoping that if they want to do it, they will do it following the normal process in whatever they want to do.”
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.