Politics
Youths Dominant As INEC Records 10.4m Fresh Registrants
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it recorded 10.4 million fresh registration in the just suspended nationwide continuous voter registration registration (CVR).
The body disclosed this in its CVR update for Quarter 4, week 16, released on Monday, in Abuja.
The commission also said that during the period, 12.2 million registrants completed their registrations, of which 3.4 million registered online, while 8.8 million registered through physical registration.
INEC gave the gender breakdown of the registrants who completed their registrations to be, 6,074,078 male and 6,224,866 female.
The update also showed that 8,784,677 of the registrants that completed their registrations were youths, 2,430,709 middle aged, 956,017 elderly, 127,541 old persons, while 87,083 were Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
INEC also said that during the period of CVR, the commission received 31,098,013 applications including those for voter transfer, requests for replacement of PVCs, update of voter information record, etc, of which 216,442 were from PWDs.
It gave the gender breakdown of those who applied to be 16,148,645 for male and 14,949,368 from women.
A breakdown of the completed registration by states showed that Lagos had the highest number of registrants that completed their registration with 585,629 registrants, followed by Kano with 569,103 and Delta with 523,517.
Ekiti has the lowest number of people who completed registration with 124,844, followed by Yobe 152,414, FCT 211,341 and Imo with 213, 270.
The last CVR commenced in April 2017 and ended in August 2018, in the lead-up to the 2019 general elections.
It was scheduled to resume in the first quarter of 2020 but was suspended following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
However, INEC resumed the exercise on June 28, 2021 and suspended it on July 31, this year.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
-
Politics5 days agoSenate Receives Tinubu’s 2026-2028 MTEF/FSP For Approval
-
Sports5 days agoNew W.White Cup: GSS Elekahia Emerged Champions
-
Sports5 days ago
Players Battle For Honours At PH International Polo Tourney
-
Sports5 days agoAllStars Club Renovates Tennis Court… Appeal to Stop Misuse
-
Sports5 days ago
NFF To Discuss Unpaid Salaries Surrounding S’Eagles Coach
-
News5 days agoRSG Lists Key Areas of 2026 Budget
-
Sports5 days ago
2025 AFCON: Things to know about Nigeria’s opponents In Group C
-
News5 days agoDangote Unveils N100bn Education Fund For Nigerian Students
