The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised the alarm over the staggering number of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs in Oyo State, warning that the development threatens democratic participation
.Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Professor Adeniran Tella, disclosed that no fewer than 515,254 PVCs remain unclaimed across Oyo State, describing the figure as deeply concerning.
Prof. Tella made the disclosure in Oyo town during a Voter Education and Enlightenment Programme organised as part of the sensitisation campaign for the ongoing second phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Breaking down the figures, he revealed that 44,742 PVCs remain uncollected in four local government areas within Oyo Zone alone.
Atiba leads with 16,528 cards, followed by Oyo East with 11,599, Oyo West with 9,305, and Afijio with 7,310—representing 8.7 per cent of the total uncollected PVCs in the state.
To tackle accessibility challenges, Prof. Tella announced that INEC has deployed and commenced the rotation of its Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) machines across all 351 registration areas in Oyo State.
He said the machines began operation on February 9 and will run for 50 days, operating daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding weekends and public holidays, before suspension on April 10, 2026.
The REC explained that the CVR exercise targets Nigerians who have just turned 18, those who have never registered, individuals seeking transfer of voting location, and citizens with lost or damaged PVCs.
While urging eligible residents to take advantage of the exercise, Prof. Tella stressed that registration alone is not enough without collecting the PVC, which remains the ultimate instrument for exercising the right to vote.
Traditional rulers, community leaders, artisans, traders, religious leaders, youth and women groups, security agencies, and political stakeholders attended the event, which focused on mobilising citizens to play their part in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy.
INEC Releases final list of Governorship, Deputy Governorship candidates for June 20 Election in Ekiti State
The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the final list of governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the June 20 election in Ekiti State.
However, the names of the Peoples’ Democratic party Candidate, Dr Wole Oluyede and his Social Democratic Party counterpart, David Bankole were missing from the list which have twelve other candidates.
The final list was posted on the INEC notice board at the commission’s state headquarters in Ado Ekiti.
Spokesperson for the PDP candidate, Mr Gani Salau, expressed confidence that Dr Oluyede would still participate, noting that the party has filed two court cases: one seeking a stay of execution/appeal against the court order for fresh PDP primaries, and another requesting that INEC publish Oluyede’s name as the party’s candidate for the governorship election.
Similarly, SDP State Chairman, Ayodele Bamikole, said the party would pursue legal avenues to ensure its candidate is included in the list.
INEC had released a provisional list on December 29, 2025, giving parties until January 12, 2026, to make corrections or substitutions before publishing the final list in line with election guidelines.
The federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti had last week nullified the PDP primary election conducted in November last year which produced Dr Wole Oluyede as its Governorship candidate and ordered the conduct of a fresh primary.
In an effort to solve the challenges associated with accessibility to the ongoing second phase of nationwide continuous voter registration, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in Oyo state has announced decision to rotate the movement of its Voter Enrollment Device, IVED across the 351 Registration Areas in the state
Resident Electoral Commissioner in Oyo state, Dr. Adeniran Tells made this known at a news conference on update on the ongoing voter registration.
Dr. Tella who said the IVED machines will be mobile, hinted that the Commission has meticulously designed a 50-day rotational schedule to ensure that the enrollment services reach every corner of the State.
He said the machines will be moved systematically starting from Monday the 9th Feb. 2026 from 9am to 3pm daily excluding weekends and public holidays.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner explained that a Stakeholders’ meeting comprising Political Parties, Security Personnel, Traditional and Religious Leaders would be organized at both the State and respective LGAs Offices to enhance effective dissemination of information, deployment of materials at the agreed venues and dates for each registration area
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Osun State, has announced the commencement of the second phase of the Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise.
A statement by Osun INEC Public Relations Officer, Mr. Musa Olurode on behalf of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mutiu Agboke stated that the exercise would commence on the 5th of January 2026.
Mr. Agboke urged all eligible voters in Osun State to take advantage of the exercise, as registration is a constitutional requirement for participation in elections.
The statement reads “ the Commission hereby informs the general public that the second phase of the “Continuous Voters’ Registration” , CVR Exercise will commence on Monday, January 5, 2026 across the state.”
“This phase of the CVR is intended to provide an opportunity for eligible Nigerians who did not register during the first phase to do so. It is also open to citizens who have attained the age of 18, as well as registered voters who wish to apply for transfer of their PVCs, correction of personal details, or replacement of lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).” It adds
He expressed the readiness of the commission to conducting a transparent, credible, inclusive, and acceptable electoral process, in compliance with the Electoral Act and the commission’s guidelines.
Human rights activist, Dr Oluwakemi Aremu has called on Professor Joash Amupitan, the newly nominated Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to digitise Nigeria’s voting process and ensure electoral transparency.
Dr. Aremu made the call while reacting to the National Council of State’s approval of Professor Amupitan’s appointment in an interview with Radio Nigeria.
She cited a history of non-transparent elections in Nigeria and emphasized that technology would strengthen the credibility of the electoral process.
Dr. Aremu described the incoming INEC Chairman as thoroughly versed in the rule of law—a foundation for credible and free elections.
She also urged Professor Amupitan to introduce digital voting devices to prevent ballot snatching and polling station violence, incidents that have marred previous elections.
Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, a native of Kogi State in North-Central Nigeria, serves as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
President Tinubu nominated him after the ten-year term of the former INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, ended in October 2025.
Professor Amupitan is the first person from Kogi State to receive a nomination as INEC Chairman.
The National Council of State has approved the nomination of Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN) from the North-Central as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Tinubu had presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit who served from 2015 till October 2025.
Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, said that the President told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical.
Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity.
In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening.
Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area in Kogi, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau.
He is also an alumnus of the university.
He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.
Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.
After completing primary and secondary education, he attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988.
He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.
Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos.
A position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.
Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008).
Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council.
Abuja real estate
He is also a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).
Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008); Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008); Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), Principles of Company Law(2013) and an Introduction to the Law of Trust in Nigeria (2014).
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has encouraged Nigerians to take the advantage of the ongoing continuous voter’s registration, CVR, to be able to perform their civic duty during elections.
The Head of Voter Education Publicity and Gender Inclusivity, INEC in Ogun State, Mrs Oyekemi Abai while speaking with Radio Nigeria in Abeokuta, noted that the physical voter’s registration was personal exercise and would not be done for anyone by proxy.
Mrs Abai emphasised that only Nigerians above eighteen years could participate in the voter’s registration exercise.
She explained that the process was very easy and not time consuming, advising people to register early and avoid last minute rush.
She announced that the issues of lost or damaged voter’s cards and update of personal information could be easily resolved on mobile phones or gadgets through: www.cvr.inecnigeria.gov, instead of visiting INEC offices, which may cause congestion.
Responding to callers on the programme, the INEC Spokesperson affirmed that there were preferential treatment for people with disabilities, aged, pregnant and nursing mothers, towards attracting more people for the voter’s registration exercise.
Mrs Abai noted that the INEC was taking necessary steps, including sensitisation programmes to markets, and other public places, as well as engagement of relevant stakeholders, to mobilise Nigerians for the continuous voter’s registration exercise, which had commenced since 25th August, across the Country.
The Ogun State INEC public education officer gave the assurance that adequate equipment with necessary facilities and personnel were available at the State INEC headquarters in Magbon, Abeokuta, and its offices across the twenty local government Areas of the State, for the registration exercise.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC for Oyo state, Dr. Adeniran Tella says the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise will last for one year and will be suspended as from 30th August, 2026.
Dr Tella stated this while addressing journalists at a media briefing as part of activities to sensitize residents on the INEC continuous voter registration exercise which has commenced since last week Monday.
While appealing to residents not to wait till the end of the exercise before registering at the commission’s state and local government offices, Dr Tella said two of the INEC Voter Enrolment Device, IVED, Machines have been placed either at the State Office or in all its 33 INEC LGA Offices for seamless registration.
He said to decongest the registration centres, already registered voters who want to replace or transfer their Permanent Voter Cards may not to visit the designated centres but perform such task online via https://cvr.inecnigeria.org/Public/getStarted
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Oyo State, has commenced a new round of Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise.
In a statement by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC in the state, Dr. Adeniran Tella, the online pre registration of the CVR for eligible voters began yesterday while in-person registration commences next week Monday.
According to Dr Tella, the eligibility for the registration included Nigerian citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and above and have never registered before; registered voters who wish to transfer their voting locations from one place to another and registered voters who have had defaced or lost Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, and require replacement.
Others include registered voters who need to correct their personal information on the voter register and Individuals who have registered before but whose name did not appear on the Voters’ Register.
As Continuous Voters Registration, CVR, begins nationwide with an online pre-registration option, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, has appealed to political parties, religious leaders, royal fathers and civil society groups to mobilise eligible citizens to participate in the exercise.
Addressing newsmen in Ado Ekiti, Dr Omoseyindemi, however, warned them, particularly politicians, against recruiting underage persons and foreigners to register.
He explained that those taking part in the online registration would complete the process within fourteen days with finger capturing while the face-to-face or physical registration would commence on the 25th of this month at eight hundred and eleven INEC Local governments and state offices nationwide.
Dr Omoseyindemi listed the categories of people that the exercise was meant for to include, those who just attained the age of 18, those who missed the previous exercise, people with damaged, defaced or lost PVCs and those seeking transfer of their voting places.
Also, the Director of the National Orientation Agency in Ekiti State, Mrs Oluwayemisi Akomolede expressed the readiness of the agency to mobilise eligible citizens to take part in the exercise.
Radio Nigeria gathered that those participating in online registration could do so via CVR.inecnigeria.org
The media need to avoid misrepresentation and circulation of important issues and events that affects the Public.
The Resident Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Dr. Mutiu Agboke made the call during a courtesy visit to the correspondent chapel of the Nigerian Union of journalists in Osogbo, Osun State capital.
Dr Mutiu Agboke said it was imperative for the media to fact check and asks questions in cases of doubt in daily reportage.
He appealed to the media to help sensitize the Public by erasing the negative perception that the Electoral Commission already had prepared results, therefore there was no need to cast votes.
The Osun INEC boss emphasized that the only panacea for violence-free ,fair and credible election in Nigeria is when the eligible voters change their negative perception about INEC, shun violence and vote buying.
In his welcome remark, the chairman of correspondent chapel, Mr Sina Abubakar gave assurance that journalists in the state would be consistent and objective in their reportage .
Mr. Abubakar urged Dr Agboke to provide journalists necessary information for objective reportage, stressing that effective partnership would help to promote violence free election.
“We must address violence and vote buying. The question we must ask ourselves are who are those involved in vote buying? Who are those creating violence during elections? This is why we are leveraging on various stakeholders like NUJ to fight against this menace.
“This rapport we are having will go a long way to assist the INEC towards delivering a credible election.”
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, weekend, said that over 261,703 Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, have remained uncollected in Ondo State, ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, said that out of 1,991,344 registered voters, 1,729,641 have collected their PVCs in the state.
Babalola said this during the stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Commission in Akure, the state capital.
According to her, all the 210 centres that will be opened for the CVR exercise have been identified, listed, and published on INEC website.
18 political parties are participating in the November 16 gubernatorial polls in the state.
Also speaking during the meeting, the INEC National Commissioner supervising Ondo, Ogun and Osun States, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, appealed to election stakeholders to mobilize prospective registrants for the upcoming Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ahead of the governorship election in the State.
Ajayi particularly urged the stakeholders comprising the representatives of media houses, civil society organisations, political parties, security agencies and People Living with Disabilities on the need to assist the commission in sensitizing prospective registrants to register early, not engage in double registration, and for parents to warn or prevent their wards from engaging in under age registration.
Ajayi who recalled that the commission announced the plan to resume the CVR as part of its preparations for the election in the state, said the last CVR exercise ended in July 2022, before the 2023 general elections.
The new CVR exercise will commence from Monday May 27 to Wednesday June 5, 2024 from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm daily, including the weekend.
According to him: ”The Commission believes that within this period, there would have been a lot of young boys and girls who would have grown to the constitutionally approved voting age of 18 years and any other eligible voters who have been unable to register during the previous CVR exercises would be able to take advantage of this CVR to do so”.
The Action Democratic party, ADP has picked Mr Ayodeji Akinnodi as its candidate for the November governorship election in Ondo State.
Mr Akinnodi was picked through a consensus which was affirmed by delegates from all the eighteen local government areas of the state.
The event held in Akure, the state capital was witnessed the ADP National Chairman, Mr Yabagi Yusuf, the State Chairman and Mr Olufemi Oladejo while it was supervised by INEC officials
Addressing the delegates, the National chairman, Mr Yusuf noted that Mr Akinnodi had worked tirelessly for development of the party, hence the decision to offer him the governorship ticket.
The state chairman, Mr Oladejo expressed optimisim that with Mr Akinnodi as the ADP governorship candidate, he was sure that the party would come out victorious in the November 16 election.
In his acceptance speech, the flagbearer, Mr Akinnodi who explained that he was in the race to enhance the development of Ondo state promised to give priority attention to infrastructure, health, transport, education, power and housing sectors.
The ADP governorship candidate who pledged to involve youths in his government if given the opportunity to serve the state appreciated the party for offering him the ticket unopposed.
There was heavy presence of security operatives during the re-run election held on Saturday, in two polling units of Saki West State Constituency of Oyo State House of Assembly.
The affected polling units are Odo-osun 007 in Ogidigbo area and Ogbalanja polling unit 019 in Sepeteri/Bapon registration area.
It was also observed that officials of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, were on ground at the two polling units to prevent vote buying.
The atmosphere at the two polling units was peaceful as voters performed their civic rights without hindrance or intimidation.
The rerun election in Saki West state constituency was as a result of the ruling of an Appeal court on the judgement of the 2023 Election petition tribunal.
According to the court, the election recorded electoral malpractices ranging from over-voting in the affected polling units and by-passing of BVAS during accreditation of voters.
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday, commenced the distribution of sensitive electoral materials in the six Local Government Areas of Plateau state ahead of Saturday’s re-rerun election
The distribution of the electoral materials was done on the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Jos, the state capital
The distribution was done in the presence of representatives of political parties, observers, journalists and security personnel.
However, as soon as the distribution of the materials started, it was discovered that the PDP logo was missing on the ballot papers while others including APC, PRP, and LP were captured on the ballot.
The development has caused tension in the area as members of the PDP who gathered to witness the distribution of the election materials were seen protesting the non-inclusion of their party while accusing INEC of acting against the Court of Appeal judgment which said that all parties should contest in the re-run
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party and their supporters in Plateau state had on Wednesday staged a protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Jos over an alleged exclusion of the party in the forthcoming re-run election scheduled for February 3, 2023, but officials of the electoral body had assured them that the issue would be taken care of.
The protesters demanded evidence of the inclusion of the PDP on the ballot for Plateau North Senatorial District and Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency where the re-rerun would occur on Saturday.
Prior to the protests, there had been rumours that the PDP and its candidates would not participate in the re-rerun poll following the Court of Appeal judgement which nullified the elections in the two constituencies earlier won by the party’s candidates -Senator Simon Mwadkwon for Plateau North and Musa Agah, for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency.
The Court of Appeal had based the nullification of their elections on the ground that the PDP which nominated them as candidates had no structure.
INEC declared Agah and Mwadkwon during the 2023 b winners of the February 2023 National Assembly Elections for Plateau North Senatorial District and Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, but
The petitions against the PDP and its candidates which succeeded at the Appeal court were filed by LP’s Plateau North Senatorial Candidates, Gyang Zi and PRP’s Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency Candidate Mohammad Adam Alkali and a rerun election was ordered in the two constituencies by the Appellate court
In compliance with the Court of Appeal decision, INEC announced February 3rd 2024 as the date for the rerun.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Oyo State has reported a fire outbreak at its Ibadan South East Local Government Area office.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in the State, Dr Adeniran Rahmon Tella, in a statement noted that, the outbreak occurred on Friday 26th January, 2024 at around 10:30 O’clock in the morning.
Dr Tella explained the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report but was assumed to be triggered by a power surge.
The REC stated that, no life was lost but some logistic materials were burnt.
He gave assurance that, the incident has no effect on the upcoming Saki/West State Constituency re-run election coming up on Saturday the 3rd of February 2024.
Candidates of the All Progressives Congress APC have been declared winners of the just concluded Local Government Election in Ekiti State.
The Party won in all the 16 statutory Local Governments, 22 Local Council Development Areas Chairmanship seats and 177 Councillorship seats.
Chairman of the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, EKSIEC Retired Justice Cornelius Akintayo received the results from returning officers at the Commission’s situation office in Ado Ekiti where winners were announced.
Retired Justice Akintayo noted that eleven political parties including, the Labour Party, Zenith Labour Party, Action Alliance, Action Democratic Congress, New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Peoples Redemption Party, among others participated in the exercise.
He commended the efforts of security operatives, political parties, ad-hoc staff, Journalists and other stakeholders who demonstrated the spirit of patriotism and sportsmanship by ensuring the smooth conduct of the election.
Retired Justice Akintayo also applauded the people of Ekiti State for their cooperation and peaceful conduct which led to the success of the exercise.
According to EKSIEC Chairman, the date for the collection of Certificates of return by the winners will be announced later.
The joint committee of the 10th National Assembly on electoral matters is working assiduously to improve the nation’s electoral process.
This is contained in a statement by the senator representing Oyo South Federal Constituency for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Sharafadeen Alli, and signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Akeem Abas and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Ibadan.
Alli, the Chairman Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, disclosed this while featuring on a Channels Television programme “Sunrise Daily”.
He said that the last general election was better than previous elections, adding there have been significant improvements in the electoral process.
The lawmaker commended the 9th National Assembly under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Lawan for passing the 2022 Electoral law which allowed the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, as a game changer.
He said the Electoral Act 2022 brought lots of improvements to the voting process and other legislations concerning the election.
“We will work assiduously to ensure improvement on the technology deployed for the electoral process and guidelines already in place,” he said.
On technology, he said that efforts would be made to ensure the BVAS machine stores data to prevent constant reconfiguration of the machine by INEC.
The lawmaker, who said that the electoral law does not mandate INEC to upload results on a portal, said they would mandate INEC to upload every result on the portal in the coming elections.
“We were in Lagos some days back for a retreat. By the 28th of this month, we are having another town hall meeting here in Abuja to ensure people bare their minds on the electoral laws”.
“We, in the 10th Senate will ensure laws are made to have positive impacts on the electoral process and our people. We want to ensure that by next year, we will have made lots of improvements,” he said.
Alli said that they would abridge the time for filing and concluding petitions, adding that pre-election matters must be concluded before elections, while election matters are concluded before swearing-in.
The lawmaker said that the majority of Nigerians and INEC itself want the commission unbundled in terms of functions, while every matter concerning the electoral process would be looked into to allow for more transparency in our electoral system.
He agreed that there were no perfect elections anywhere in the world, saying the electoral process in Nigeria was getting better on a daily basis.
“Perfection is relative. We still have issues with elections across the world. If we can improve the electoral process to get 90 per cent perfection, then we are good for it,” he said.
Alli, who was part of the team that monitored the just concluded Liberian presidential election, described it as well-organised, transparent and fair.
The lawmaker lauded the patriotism displayed by Liberians during the election, urging Nigerians to emulate such an attitude as they look forward to a greater country.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Bayelsa State has adjourned the announcements of the remaining two Local Government Areas results to noon, today.
The outstanding Local Government Areas are Brass and Southern Ijaw LGAs.
The Head of Department Voter Education and Publicity, INEC, Bayelsa State, Mr Wilfred Ifogah who announced the adjournment after the session was reconvened by 7 pm on Sunday, said there are challenges in a coalition of some units and wards results of the two Local Government Areas.
Out of the eight Local Government Areas of the state, the results of six have been announced where the PDP won five and the APC won one.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has postponed its meeting with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The meeting earlier scheduled to be held on Monday was rescheduled to hold on Friday, according to the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.
The commission was meant to meet with Ribadu and other heads of security chiefs at the NSA office to discuss the rising state of insecurity in the Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states ahead of the governorship election.
The postponement might not be unconnected to the ongoing appeals at the Supreme Court where Ribadu is in attendance.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed satisfaction with the performance of the bimodal voter accreditation system BVAS ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo state.
The INEC National Commissioner in charge of South East, Kenneth Ukeagu stated this while speaking with newsmen after monitoring the mock accreditation exercise held in select polling units across the state.
He explained that the ease at which the eligible voters who came out for the exercise were accredited was a clear indication that the people of Imo state would witness seamless voting during the poll.
Similarly, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Sylvia Agu said she was impressed with the exercise noting that it took seconds for the BVAS to accredit the prospective voters..
Kogi
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu says that the Commission will deploy Eight Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS fo easy Accreditation at Ganaja village polling unit in Ajaokuta area of Kogi State
Professor Yakubu stated this in Lokoja, Kogi State when he visited the area to assess the progress of the Mock Accreditation exercise taking place in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States ahead of the November 11th Governorship elections.
He said the reason for deploying the eight machines was that Ganaja polling unit was the largest polling unit and most densely populated in Nigeria with 13,000 registered voters.
He explained that after the governorship election, the Commission would redistribute the voters to other approximate locations.
Professor Yakubu who said one of the challenges facing the location was flooding, pointed out that an alternative arrangement had been made incase there was flood.
He said they were taking proactive measures to ensure that voters had a pleasant voting experience on election day.
Professor Yakubu said to reduce crowd on Election day at Ganaja polling unit with over 11,000 voters, the Commission set up several desks with many voting locations on election day.
The INEC electoral officer, Datchan Manchan said they had all the non sensitive materials for the election and that preparations are going on well ahead of the Governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is conducting a mock accreditation in the three States where the Governorship elections will take place on November 11th, 2023.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu is on his way to Lokoja to monitor the progress of the exercise.
Earlier, Professor Yakubu made a brief stop at INEC Kotonkarfe Local Government Office.
The Electoral Officer, Alhaji Hassan Musa told the INEC Chairman that they had received all the non sensitive materials for the election.
He also said they were collaborating with the security agencies to ensure a hitch free exercise and therefore solicited for more security personnel on the election day.
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu promised the staff that all they needed would be provided but advised them to be of good behaviour on November 11th.
Professor Yakubu later inspected the materials and also mandated the Electoral Officer to ensure that polls are opened b 8AM on Election day.
Ogochukwu Okoronkwo and Chinazo Ilechuckwu; Editing by Oluwaseyi Ajibadeand Annabel Nwachukwu
The Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, EKSIEC has advised Political parties taking part in December Two (2) Council polls to follow guidelines and time table of the election.
EKSIEC Chairman, Retired Justice Cornelius Akintayo, who gave the advice during a meeting with chairmen of Political parties in Ado Ekiti, applauded them for conducting peaceful primaries where chairmanship and counsellorship candidates emerged.
He appealed to candidates of each Political party to embark on peaceful campaign devoid of violence and also sought for the cooperation of all stakeholders in the state.
Retired Justice Akintayo, however, urged candidates of Political parties taking part in the election to obtain their tax clearance certificate to avoid being disqualified from the race.
The EKSIEC Chairman told leaders of Political parties that the Commission was ready to conduct credible Council polls in which other states in the country could be proud of.
In their reactions, the State Chairman, Social Democratic Party, Chief Dele Ekunola and his counterpart from the Young Progressives Party, Mr Owoola Daramola lauded EKSIEC for carrying them along in all its activities.
They implored the Commission to give equal treatment to all Politcal parties taking part in the Election in the interest of peace..
Thirteen Political parties have fielded Chairmanship and counsellorship candidates for the December Two Local Government Election in Ekiti State.
There is no evidence that the diploma Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to the country’s electoral commission was forged, the BBC’s Global Disinformation Team has found.
Allegations that President Tinubu’s certificates were faked went viral on social media following the release by Chicago State University (CSU) of his academic records last week.
We have looked at some of the most widely circulated claims.
The release of the president’s academic documents is the culmination of a judicial case filed in August by one of his main rivals in February’s presidential election, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Mr Abubakar was hoping to have the victor disqualified after accusing him of falsifying the CSU diploma of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration awarded in 1979 that he submitted to the electoral authority (Inec).
To obtain evidence for his case in Nigeria, Mr Abubakar approached a US court in August, requesting it to compel CSU to release Mr Tinubu’s academic records through a process called discovery, where the parties exchange information including documents ahead of a trial.
Mr Tinubu’s lawyers opposed the discovery application, citing privacy concerns, but the US court decided it should proceed.
The documents requested by Mr Abubakar were:
A copy of any diploma issued by CSU in 1979
A copy of the diploma CSU gave to Mr Tinubu in 1979
Copies of diplomas with the same font, seal, signatures, and wording awarded to other students that are similar to what CSU awarded to Mr Tinubu in 1979
Documents from CSU that were certified by Jamar Orr, who was then a staff member of CSU, in the 12 months from 1 August 2022
In response to request one, CSU submitted seven diplomas covering different disciplines with the names of the students redacted. According to the university’s registrar, these diplomas had not been collected by the students.
In response to request two, CSU stated that it could not find the diploma they issued to Mr Tinubu in 1979, because they do not keep copies of diplomas already collected by students.
In response to request three, CSU stated that it produced for Mr Tinubu a replacement diploma dated 27 June 1979. It also released diplomas awarded to other students that bore similar font, seal, signatures and wordings as Mr Tinubu’s diplomas.
In response to request four, CSU submitted other academic documents initially attested to and released by Mr Orr.
In line with the judge’s ruling, Mr Abubakar’s lawyer Angela Liu last week questioned Caleb Westberg, CSU’s current registrar, in a deposition.
The BBC was given access to the deposition transcript by Mr Abubakar’s spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu.
Some social media users in Nigeria alleged that the deposition and the diplomas released by CSU confirm that the diploma submitted to INEC by Mr Tinubu was forged. This claim was also repeated by one of Mr Abubakar’s lawyers, Kalu Kalu, at a press conference last week.
We found there was no evidence to support this claim.
The CSU released several diplomas issued between 1979 and 2003. We analysed all of them.
There are three different diplomas for Mr Tinubu that we refer to throughout our analysis:
The original one, from 1979, which he has said in the past was lost when he went into exile in the 1990s
The second one, that he submitted to INEC – supposedly a replacement diploma from CSU (it is similar to diplomas issued by CSU in the 1990s)
Additionally, CSU holds another replacement diploma for Mr Tinubu that they say is probably from the early 2000s that he never collected
The allegations on social media are based on a comparison between the document Mr Tinubu submitted to INEC and the 1979 diplomas released by CSU.
During Mr Westberg’s deposition, Mr Atiku’s lawyer focused on the copy of the diploma President Tinubu handed to the electoral commission and suggested that it was unlike any of the diplomas released by CSU.
However, while Mr Westberg agreed with Ms Liu that the diploma in question does not look like the samples from 1979, he stated that the certificate actually looks like three of the diplomas CSU released to Mr Abubakar. Our analysis confirms this.
It turns out that the discrepancy in the appearance of the diploma is down to it having been re-issued in the 1990s.
Mr Westberg said the template of CSU’s diploma has changed several times over the years. He said any request for a new diploma would resemble the current template at that time, no matter when the student graduated.
As such, if Mr Tinubu had reordered his diploma in the late 1990s, what he would have been given would look like what was obtainable then.
Three of the diplomas dating from the 1990s that CSU submitted were similar to Mr Tinubu’s.
One of them, which bears the date 18 December 1998, is identical (aside from the names, class of degree, and dates) to the diploma Mr Tinubu handed over to INEC.
Mr Westberg also stated that CSU does not keep notes of when a graduate asks for the reissuing of a diploma and therefore Mr Tinubu’s request for a copy of the diploma was not recorded.
The copy he gave to the electoral commission had part of the university logo missing, which Mr Westberg said in his deposition was possibly “cut off” when it was photocopied.
We analysed the diploma. It appears in fact that its bottom part was not included during the photocopy process.
The BBC reached out to Mr Tinubu’s team to get a copy of the diploma in question. They sent what they said was the only existing copy of the diploma. It is a black and white photocopy identical to what was submitted to INEC.
Another claim, made by a fact-checking organisation in Nigeria, was that the diploma Mr Tinubu submitted was not from CSU as its diplomas do not include the phrase “with honors” under the degree name.
But the BBC found that while this was not reflected in the other diplomas released by CSU, it does appear in Mr Tinubu’s diploma issued in the early 2000s, which was authenticated by Mr Westberg during his deposition.
It has the words “with honors” – a match with the diploma with the same detail submitted by the president to INEC.
Mr Westberg said that the school could authenticate this particular diploma because it was still in its possession as it was never picked up.
Not every student graduates from university with honours. Mr Tinubu, as attested to by CSU in several court documents seen by the BBC, did graduate from CSU with honours.
The BBC contacted CSU with questions about its diplomas and it referred us to a statement that read in part: “We are confident and always have been in the veracity and integrity of our records regarding Tinubu’s attendance and completion of graduation requirements”.
Another allegation making the rounds on social media is that the person who attended CSU with the name Bola A Tinubu is female.
Mr Tinubu attended Southwest College (now known as Richard J. Daley College) before transferring to CSU in 1976. In Southwest’s transcript, there is an “F” (for “female”) in the column where gender is indicated, leading to claims that it was a woman who attended the school and Mr Tinubu “stole her identity”. Mr Atiku’s lawyer, Mr Kalu, alluded to this in a press conference last week.
However, in his deposition, Mr Westberg stressed that there was no confusion about the gender of the person who attended CSU as he was a male named Bola A Tinubu. He said the university used other factors other than the name to authenticate the student’s identity.
According to him, the Social Security Number (SSN) in the transcript from Southwest College matches what it has in other documents in which the student’s gender is clearly marked as male.
However, the released documents did raise questions about Mr Tinubu’s birth date and the secondary school he attended.
One of the documents stated that Mr Tinubu attended Government College Lagos in 1970. However, information available on the school website stated that it was only founded in 1974.
Aside from the gender discrepancy, the birth dates in some of the released documents differ from the official birth date of President Tinubu, which is 29 March 1952.
His transcript from CSU has his date of birth as 29 March 1954. His undergraduate admissions application form has his date of birth as 29 March, 1955.
Mr Atiku’s lawyer said during Mr Westberg’s deposition that on the forms submitted to INEC, Mr Tinubu had given his date of birth as 29 March 1952.
Mr Westberg, during cross-examination, responded that the discrepancies could have been due to human error.
We contacted Mr Tinubu’s team for comment about these discrepancies and a spokesperson directed us instead to his party – the All Progressives Congress. We then contacted Mr Tinubu’s presidential campaign spokesperson Festus Keyamo, who is also a minister in the government. He did not take our calls or respond to our text and WhatsApp messages.
We also sent questions to Mr Abubakar’s team. They did not respond.
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna has declared the 2023 governorship election in Kaduna state inconclusive.
According to report from Vanguard correspondent, the tribunal, during its resumed proceeding on Thursday, in a split decision of a ratio of 2:1, declared the election inconclusive and directed that a supplementary election should be held by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within 90 days.
The 3-man panel led by Justice Victor Oviawe therefore ordered a rerun of election in 24 polling units in seven wards of four local governments consisting of 16,300 registered voters.
The verdict was announced via Zoom after the judges shunned the physical hall.
Recall that the petition was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Isah Mohammed Ashiru.
PDP’s Ashiru is challenging the election of Uba Sani as the Governor of Kaduna State on the grounds of alleged irregularities and electoral fraud, saying that its Candidate (Isa Mohammed Ashiru) won the election.
