Politics
INEC , DON’T PLUNGE NIGERIA INTO CHAOS
ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF ELECTION RESULTS: INEC , DON’T PLUNGE NIGERIA INTO CHAOS
INEC- The attention of the Centre for Social and Economic Rights (CSER) has been drawn to a statement credited to the National Commissioner for information and voter education, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC Mr. Festus Okoye in response to the National Assembly rejection of amendment of the Electoral Act to accommodate Electronic transmission of election results, where he reiterated the electoral umpire preparedness to deploy electronic transmission of results after having tested the process in remote areas during the 2020 Edo state gubernatorial election.
According to Okoye on a national television station as reported in a national daily, “ So we have made our own position very clear, that we have the capacity and we have the will to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process.”
This statement by Mr. Festus Okoye as a representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is very unfortunate due to the fact that it has aided and abetted in politicizing a critical national discourse for which he has little or no knowledge technically and ought to have been circumspect and allowed the experts to educate him and Nigerians. To come out and hastily make a blanket statement on electronic transmission of election results nationwide in 36 states and the federal capital territory for future elections on the basis of transmission of results in remote areas in only Edo state in 2020 of which we are going to demand proof as the days go by, is rather unfortunate and depressing.
For a fact, if INEC is transmitting election results electronically, we know for sure that INEC as at this moment, despite the assertion of Mr. Okoye, does not have the technological system in place for election results in the whole of Nigeria, except if he can come out with verifiable facts to corroborate his claim and we hope he will come out to do that in the days ahead.
From the conversation around electronic transmission of election results at the National Assembly and in other fora, it has been established that the telecommunication coverage of the country by the GSM service providers according to the regulatory body Nigeria Communication Commision (NCC) is just about 50% and the coverage is not even equal, where some areas have 2G network, others have 3G and 4G network and the least that can provide a link for transmission of election results is a 3G network according to the experts.
As we speak, even the areas that have 4G networks have a huge problem of telecommunication connectivity, which explains why even in urban areas like Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Onitsha, Aba, Kaduna, Kano etc. GSM users, organizations, government agencies, institutions and even Point of Sale (POS) terminal operators still contend with the issue of connectivity. For example, it’s a fact that there is virtually no Nigerian who has not had the traumatic experience of poor or zero network resulting in SMS not delivering for hours and days after being sent or not even delivering at all despite the confirmation of sent on the sender’s phone. POS terminal operators have had and still have running battles with their customers on the issue of money transfer for payments or to banks accounts which was sent and confirmed delivered on the system, but which the receipent never received and consequently resulted in the matter going to the police station for resolution or even resulted in physical fight and the attendant disruption of public peace and severance of relationships. At times, when you deposit or transfer money into and from bank accounts within the financial institutions physically or online, you don’t receive alert for hours and days, only through persistent calls from the would be receipent of non delivery, would you realize that the transaction was aborted and the transfer cancelled with the money returned and in some cases, you have to go to the bank for resolution of such a transaction. As a Nigerian, we have had instances where even in your location, one is left stranded because the network suddenly went down and one cannot make quality calls or send messages for hours and even for some days, only for you later to receive an apology SMS from the service providers for the inconveniences caused by system breakdown or disruption.
A stark reality of our state of national affairs today is that our society suffers from trust deficit. Imagine a situation in which election has been concluded in a location and results that have been transmitted electronically say from 4.30pm, is now delivered and acknowledged at 7pm same day or even beyond because of technical hitches, poor or lack of coverage or natural factors? Definitely, the swan song from the party that lost the election and it supporters would be that the result has been manipulated, even when they know that is not the case and instead of being responsible to acknowledge the technological deficiency, they would continue with their cries of mischief just to gain public sympathy and undermine the process for political capital.
If Mr. Festus Okoye statement that INEC has the capacity to transmit election results electronically is to be taken as the gospel truth, then persons and financial institutions won’t be at the receiving end of financial fraud by criminals who continue to perpetuate their criminality by exploiting the loopholes in the man-made telecommunication system globally for which the service providers themselves have no absolute control.
As it stands, INEC does not have its own telecomunication connectivity to transmit elections results from whichever area within Nigeria that Mr. Okoye is talking about confidently without substance, INEC is going to rely a third party, the GSM service providers for a platform for which there is no part of the 36 states and the federal capital territory of Nigeria that does not suffer from zero, poor, unreliable, susceptible to weather fluctuations and even manipulations by evil minded persons and groups which have resulted in untoward consequences on humanity.
The attempt to politicize this serious area of our engagement by persons and groups is very unfortunate and sad. The only difference between electronic transmission of results and the manual transmission is the issue of time. The time limitations of the manual transmission that ought to be a source of concern is by far better than the electronic transmission of election results which is also susceptible to manipulations with the reality on ground.
For example, we presently operate a manual transmission of results in which election results are publicly announced at the polling stations and party agents and security agencies sign the results sheets and receive copies and it is pasted publicly at the polling station before the onward transmission. Even when this process is carried out transparently and creditably in the full glare of the stakeholders, we have had and will continue to have situations where a party agent because after the final sorting and counting of ballot papers according to votes scored by parties, recognizing that his party has been defeated, refuse to sign the results sheets or disappear from signing just to undermine the credibility of the process and he and other party faithfuls and supporters continue to sing the song mischievous cries that they have been robbed at the polls without proof, whereas it is not true. Can you compare the scenario above with an electronic transmission of results which would be executed by only the electoral umpire? Definitely, this is nothing but an invitation to anarchy knowing that the mindset of the average human being for mischief and wolf cries is legendary.
Also, in the case of electoral disputes, how can an aggrieved candidate and party pursue it’s case at the courts with facts if for example, the primary source of data used in transferring the election result is stolen, missing or damaged? This electronic transmission of result has the tendency to undermine the conflict resolution mechanism of our electoral system which is against the tenets of fairness and justice even in election matters.
Today, because of the advancement we have made in our electoral system, at election time, even with the manual transmission of results, the voters are kings as the political party justle with one another to curry their votes through financial and other forms of inducement before election that we derisively referred to as “Di ibo, ko se obe” meaning “Vote and cook soup” at one of the staggered gubernatorial elections only recently in which we waged a war and are still on it against vote buying. With this electronic transmission of election results campaign being waged at all front, one suspect that the king role of the voters would be displaced with that of hackers as politicians are capable of doing anything to get to power at all cost. Also, what guarantee can the GSM services providers initiate to protect the system against vandalism and disruption of telecommunication system in areas which agents of party A believe is the stronghold of party B to prevent electronic transmission of results?
To those who are fraudulently mouthing and confusing the uninformed that electronic transmission of election result would eliminate manipulation and ballot snatching, this is very untrue. Electronic transmission of results can only happen after the conclusion of election in which ballot papers thumbprinted by voters at the polls have been sorted and counted, if ballot box containing ballot papers is snatched and or damaged, what would be counted and transmitted as election results electronically?
We must at this juncture, express our disappointment with honourable legislators who made the right and realistic decision of voting against electronic transmission of election results for now, but have according to reports, been coming out to deny doing such as a result of the relentless campaign of blackmail and calumny against their patriotic and nationalistic decision to save Nigeria from descending into intended chaos by the insistence on this amendment from some unfortunately concerned and mischievous quarters, whether we have the infrastructure on ground or not to operate it, but have adopted the slogan of just do it for whatever it means. Critical public decision are very bitter and painstaking decision that must be fought and defended with facts no matter whose ox is gored.
The progress made so far in our electoral system has caused untold pain and inconvenience to beneficiaries of the old system, today, we have a PVC and card reader system in place to check manipulation of voting by proxy, even though we are not there yet, the electronic transmission of results is fraught with landmines of hackers, zero and poor telecommunication connectivity of which the country suffers from unreliable and porous service which can be exploited to undermine our election and national security.
To the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), election results is a national security information which for the sake of national security should not be transmitted through a third party which the GSM service providers platform represents and because of the inherent dangers it portends in the short and long term, don’t plunge Nigeria into chaos by trying to be politically correct, it is dangerous to our collective humanity.
Politics
Pro-Tinubu Group Demands Sack of Badaru, Other Ministers Who Lost Polling Units in Bye-Elections
Pro-Tinubu Group Demands Sack of Badaru, Other Ministers Who Lost Polling Units in Bye-Elections
The Asiwaju Network has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately disengage underperforming ministers who failed to deliver their polling units and wards during the just-concluded bye-elections.
The group also urged a cabinet reshuffle to inject fresh energy and ensure that only those who can add political and governance value remain in the Federal Executive Council.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja and signed by its president, Alhaji Musa Ibrahim Dandoka, the Asiwaju Network said the results of the elections were a litmus test that exposed the political weaknesses of some ministers entrusted with strategic national assignments.
At Babura Kofar Arewa Primary School in Jigawa State, where the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, cast his vote, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 308 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC), which managed only 112.
Badaru, a former governor of Jigawa and APC chieftain, left the venue without addressing journalists after casting his vote amid heavy security presence.
Dandoka said it was troubling that, despite his high office, the Defence Minister could not secure victory in his polling unit.
He argued that such political setbacks undermine the strength of the APC and the credibility of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope government.
“This defeat is both embarrassing and unacceptable. A minister who cannot win his polling unit cannot claim to possess the political capital required to defend the APC or promote the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda. President Tinubu must act quickly to weed out weak links in his cabinet and replace them with men and women who have proven grassroots capacity,” Dandoka stated.
The group noted that Badaru was not alone in this failure, stressing that another minister from Jigawa and one from Enugu State also lost their wards and polling units.
According to the group, these developments point to a worrying trend of disconnect between certain ministers and their political bases.
“Ministers are not merely technocrats. They are political leaders of the party in their states and zones. If they cannot hold their homes together, then they do not deserve to hold on to strategic national offices. The bye-elections have sent a clear message, and it is that some ministers have lost relevance and electoral value,” the statement reads.
The Asiwaju Network maintained that the APC’s strength lies in grassroots mobilisation, and any minister unable to inspire loyalty within his immediate constituency is a liability.
Dandoka emphasised that President Tinubu’s success in governance must be matched with political consolidation, which requires capable and electorally grounded cabinet members.
“President Tinubu has been bold with tough decisions on subsidy reforms, the economy, and security. Nigerians are beginning to see the fruits of those reforms. But he must also be bold enough to reshuffle his cabinet. A government of results cannot afford ministers who are passengers. The President needs proven drivers of the Renewed Hope vision,” Dandoka said.
The group also commended loyal APC members and supporters who defied intimidation and attempts at rigging in Jigawa and Enugu, saying their resilience was the true strength of the ruling party.
“These members stood firm when those at the top failed to inspire confidence. They turned out in their numbers to defend the APC’s relevance even when some of their supposed leaders abandoned them. These grassroots soldiers of democracy must never be taken for granted,” Dandoka added.
The Asiwaju Network further urged President Tinubu to take the bye-election results as a warning, cautioning that retaining non-performing ministers would embolden the opposition and demoralise party loyalists.
“The message from Jigawa and Enugu is clear: the APC cannot continue to reward failure. A minister who cannot secure a few streets in his ward has no business in the Federal Executive Council. Mr President must urgently rejig his cabinet or risk carrying dead weight into future electoral contests,” the coalition warned.
Reaffirming the group’s loyalty to Tinubu’s leadership, Dandoka said Nigerians expect a government that rewards competence and accountability, not excuses and political failures.
“President Tinubu has the people’s mandate. He must not allow weak ministers to drag down his vision. A decisive cabinet reshuffle now will send a strong signal that the Renewed Hope government is serious about performance, delivery, and results,” he declared.
Customs at the Crossroads: When Lawmakers Look Away and the Executive Looks Aside
By Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi
In a democracy, legislative oversight is the scalpel that cuts through deceit, inefficiency, and corruption in public institutions. It is the people’s last institutional shield against abuse of power. But what happens when that shield becomes a shelter for the very rot it is meant to expose? And what happens when the Executive arm, whose duty is to supervise its agencies, pretends not to see?
The unfolding drama between the National Assembly and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) reveals more than a policy dispute. It exposes a dangerous triangle of confusion, complicity, and economic sabotage. At stake is not only the rule of law but the survival of an economy already gasping under inflation, a weak naira, and suffocating costs of living.
The House Talks Tough
In June 2025, Nigerians saw a glimpse of legislative courage when the House of Representatives Committee thundered at Customs:
> “Nigerian Customs Service, by June 30, must not collect CISS again. You are to collect only your 4% FOB assigned by the President. Even the 7% cost of collection you currently take is illegal—it was an executive fiat of the military, not democratic law. Any attempt to continue these illegal collections will be challenged in court. The ‘I’s have it.”
The voice was firm, the ruling decisive. Nigerians expected a turning point.
But the righteous thunder of the House was quickly muffled by the Senate’s softer tone, which suggested not the enforcement of the law but a readiness to bend it.
Senate: Oversight or Escape Route?
At a Senate Customs Committee session, Senator Ade Fadahunsi admitted openly that Customs has been operating illegally since June 2023. Yet rather than demand an end to illegality, he extended a lifeline to Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi:
> “If we come back to the same source… the two houses will sit together and see to your amendment so you will not be walking on a tight rope.”
But should Adeniyi be handed a loose rope while Nigeria’s economy hangs by a thread?
Instead of accountability, the Senate Customs Committee floated adjustments that would make life easier for Customs. The nation was given hints about fraudulent insurance and freight data, but instead of sanctions, what we saw was a search for escape routes. This is not oversight—it is overlook.
Smuggling and Excuses
The Senate Committee also lamented cross-border smuggling—Nigerian goods like cement flooding Cotonou, Togo, and Ghana at cheaper prices than in Nigeria. Senator Fadahunsi blamed the Central Bank’s 2% value deposit for encouraging the practice.
But where are the Senate’s enforcement actions—compliance checks, stiffer sanctions, cross-border coordination? None. The result is predictable: smugglers prosper, reserves bleed, and ordinary Nigerians pay more for less.
A Bloated Customs Budget
The Service’s 2024 capital allocation ballooned to ₦1.1 trillion from ₦706 billion. Instead of channeling these resources into modern trade systems, Customs is expanding empires of frivolity—such as proposing a new university despite already having training facilities in Gwagwalada and Ikeja that could easily be upgraded.
Oversight is not an afterthought; it is the legislature’s constitutional duty. To see waste and illegality and yet propose amendments that would legalise them is to turn oversight into overlook.
Customs has about 16,000 staff, yet many remain poorly trained. Rather than prioritise capacity building, the Service is busy building staff estates in odd locations. How does Modakeke—an inland town with no border post—end up with massive Customs housing projects, while strategic border towns like Badagry, Idiroko, and Saki remain neglected? Is Bashir Adeniyi Comptroller-General of Customs—or Minister of Housing?
The 4% FOB Levy: A Policy Blunder
The central controversy is the Federal Government’s plan to replace existing port charges with a new 4% Free-On-Board (FOB) levy on imports.
Nigeria is an import-dependent nation. This levy will instantly hike the costs of cars, spare parts, machinery, and raw materials—crippling industries and punishing consumers.
Already, the consequences are biting:
A 2006 Toyota Corolla now costs between ₦6–9 million.
Clearing agents who once paid ₦215,000 for license renewal must now cough out ₦4 million.
New freight forwarder licenses have jumped from ₦600,000 to ₦10 million.
Customs claims the revenue is needed for its modernisation programme, anchored on a software platform called B’Odogwu. But stakeholders describe this so-called “Odogwu” as epileptic—if not comatose. Why commit trillions to a ghost programme that will be obsolete by January 2026, when the Nigerian Revenue Service is set to take over Customs collections?
Industry Raises the Alarm
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that the levy will worsen inflation, disrupt supply chains, and hurt productivity.
Lucky Amiwero, President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, calls the levy “economically dangerous.” His reasoning is straightforward:
The 4% FOB levy is much higher than the 1% CISS it replaces.
Peer countries like Ghana maintain just 1%.
The new levy will fuel inflation, raise the landed costs of goods, and destabilise the naira.
He also revealed that the Customs Modernisation Act, which introduced the levy, was passed without Senate scrutiny or meaningful stakeholder consultation. He estimates that the levy could add ₦3–4 trillion annually to freight costs—burdens that will be transferred directly to consumers.
Who Is Behind the “Odogwu” Masquerade?
The haste to enforce this levy, despite its looming redundancy, raises disturbing questions. Who benefits from the “Odogwu” project draining trillions? Why the rush, when NRS will take over collections in a few months?
This masquerade must be unmasked.
The Price Nigerians Pay
For ordinary Nigerians, this policy translates into one thing: higher prices. Cars, manufactured goods, and spare parts are spiraling beyond reach. A nation struggling with inflation, unemployment, and a weak currency cannot afford such reckless experiments.
So, while the Senate looks away, the Executive cannot look aside.
The Executive Cannot Escape Blame.
It is easy to focus on the failings of the legislature. But we must not forget: the Customs Service is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Finance, under the direct supervision of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun.
If Customs is breaking the law, wasting resources, or implementing anti-people policies, the buck stops at the Executive’s table. The Minister of Finance is Chairman of the Customs Board. To fold his hands while the Service operates in illegality is to abdicate responsibility.
History gives us a model. In 1999, the Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, was specifically assigned to supervise Customs and report directly to the President. Meanwhile, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala focused on broader fiscal and economic policies. That division of responsibility improved accountability. Today, the absence of such an arrangement is feeding impunity.
President Tinubu and his Finance Minister must act decisively. Oversight without executive will is a dead letter.
A Call to Accountability
The truth is stark:
Customs has been operating illegally since June 2023 to the Senate’s own confession.
The 4% FOB levy will deepen inflation and worsen economic hardship.
The Ministry of Finance bears ultimate responsibility for Customs’ conduct.
Until importing and consuming, Nigerians demand accountability—of the Comptroller-General, the Senate, and above all, the Finance Ministry—this bleeding will continue.
Nigerians deserve better. They deserve a Customs Service that serves the nation, not a privileged few. They deserve a House that enforces its resolutions, not one that grandstands. They deserve a Senate that upholds the law, not one that bends it. And above all, they deserve an Executive that does not look aside while illegality thrives under its ministry.
Only public pressure can end this indulgence. If Nigerians keep silent, we will keep paying the price—in higher costs, weaker currency, and a sabotaged economy.
Citizens’ Charge: Silence is Not an Option
Fellow Nigerians, the Customs crisis is not a drama for the pages of newspapers—it is a burden on our pockets, our businesses, and our children’s future. Every illegal levy is a tax on the poor. Every abandoned oversight is an open invitation to corruption. Every silence from the Executive is an approval of impunity.
We cannot afford to fold our arms. Democracy gives us the power of voice, the duty of vigilance, and the right to demand accountability. Let us demand that:
The Senate and House of Representatives stop playing good cop, bad cop, and enforce the law without compromise.
The Ministry of Finance takes full responsibility for the Customs Service, supervising it in the interest of Nigerians, not vested interests.
The President intervenes now, before the Service crosses the dangerous line of turning illegality into policy.
History will not forgive a people who suffered in silence when their economy was bled by recklessness. Silence is complicity. The time to speak, to write, to petition, to protest, and to demand is now.
Customs must serve Nigeria—not sabotage it.
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also the President of Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the CEO, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:[email protected]
Facebook:Bolaji Akinyemi.
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Aare Adetola Emmanuel King Congratulates Hon. Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji on Election Victory
The Chairman/CEO of Adron Group, Sir Aare Adetola Emmanuel King KOF, has congratulated Hon. Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji on her resounding victory in the just-concluded by-election for the Remo Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
In a goodwill message issued by him, he described the victory as “a historic moment for the Remo people, coming at a time when the constituency yearns for a leader with vision, courage, and genuine commitment to service.”
He noted that the outcome of the election was an attestation to the trust and confidence reposed in Hon. Ayoola-Elegbeji by the people, adding that her sterling qualities, integrity, accessibility, and compassion for the grassroots had endeared her to the electorate.
“The overwhelming support you garnered at the polls is proof that you are the right voice at the right time to carry the aspirations of Remo to the national stage,” he stated.
While acknowledging that the by-election followed the painful demise of the late Hon. Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga (Ijaya), Aare Adetola Emmanuel King said Hon. Ayoola-Elegbeji’s emergence symbolizes the continuity of purposeful representation. He expressed confidence that she would not only sustain the legacy of her predecessor but also surpass it with new energy, innovative ideas, and progressive leadership.
The Adron Group Chairman further prayed for divine wisdom, strength, and compassion for the Member-Elect as she assumes office, expressing confidence that her tenure will usher in meaningful development, economic empowerment, and greater opportunities for the people of Remo Federal Constituency.
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