ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has appealed to the Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, CFR, to use his exalted platform to counsel political parties, candidates and their supporters on the imperative of non-violent, issue-based campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The INEC chairman made the appeal on Sunday during a courtesy visit to the Emir’s palace in Zaria, Kaduna State, as part of the Commission’s nationwide Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement for the 2027 general elections.

“Elections must never be treated as do-or-die affairs, but as a peaceful celebration of civic choice,” Prof. Amupitan said, urging the monarch to “strongly counsel our youth not to allow themselves to be used as tools in the hands of politicians or instruments of political violence and thuggery.”

He further called on the Emir to encourage the people of Zazzau Emirate to actively participate in all stages of the electoral process, from the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to turning out peacefully to vote on election days, stating that “a vibrant democracy requires an engaged, informed, and participating electorate.”

Amupitan explained that the visit was part of the Commission’s established tradition of deep engagement with traditional rulers, recalling similar consultations with the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti during the Ekiti governorship election, more than 50 Osun monarchs, including the Ooni of Ife and the Ataoja of Osogbo, ahead of the Osun governorship election, and the Oba of Lagos and the White Cap Chiefs during the Commission’s South-West Zonal Assessment tour.

He noted that conducting a national election in “Africa’s largest democracy,” with a national voter register rapidly approaching the 100 million mark, required early planning, operational discipline and deep stakeholder engagement.

He added that the Commission had moved away from last-minute logistics in favour of testing, auditing and strengthening its operational readiness well ahead of time.

He disclosed that the Commission had fixed the statutory dates for the 2027 general elections, with the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2027, and the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2027.

He stressed that all administrative, technological and logistical frameworks were being fortified across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The INEC chairman assured the Emirate that under his leadership, “INEC remains unreservedly committed to absolute neutrality, fairness, and transparency,” stating that the Commission had “no candidate, no political party, and no interest other than the sovereign will of the Nigerian people.”

Responding, the Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, commended the INEC chairman for leading the Commission’s delegation to the palace and for providing timely information on preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The Emir described the engagement as remarkable and important, noting that the visit had helped the Emirate and its people gain a clearer understanding of the Commission’s preparations and the election calendar.

He identified fairness, justice, a level playing field, security, timely dissemination of information and the prompt release of results as critical elements for a successful electoral process.

The Emir also urged INEC to address concerns arising from previous elections, particularly the late distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials and technical challenges associated with election technology.

He called for election equipment to be adequately tested before deployment and for election officials and materials to arrive at polling units on time, saying such measures would strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.

The Emir further appealed to political parties and their supporters to conduct themselves responsibly during the campaign period and minimise hate speech and other actions capable of threatening peace and national cohesion.

He expressed optimism that Nigeria would continue to remain united and sustain democratic governance.

The INEC chairman and his entourage are in Kaduna in continuation of the nationwide readiness assessment and are expected to meet with staff from the North-West states on Monday, September 28, 2026.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has expressed concern over the repeated failure of the Action Alliance (AA) to present witnesses in support of its petition challenging the outcome of the June 20, 2026 governorship election.

Justice Abubakar Idris Kutigi, Chairman of the three member panel raised the concern during Friday’s proceedings after the AA again failed to produce its witnesses despite earlier assurances that they would appear. Reports from the proceedings indicate that it was the third consecutive sitting at which the party had been unable to present its witnesses.

Nigeria News Alert reports that the development followed the appearance of six witnesses presented by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who gave evidence relating to the conduct of the election in polling units and wards where they served as party agents and collation agents.

The witnesses were led in evidence by counsel to the SDP and AA, Ebenezer Akinbuli, while counsel representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tunde Salako, and counsel for Governor Biodun Oyebanji, Adetunji Oso, SAN, cross examined them.

The AA and SDP are among the petitioners challenging the declaration of Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election. The AA candidate, Olu Omotoso, polled 126 votes, while the SDP candidate, Adebayo Alade, recorded 179 votes in the election.

After the SDP completed the presentation of its witnesses for the day, attention turned to the AA, which had been expected to commence or continue the presentation of its own witnesses based on an earlier commitment made to the tribunal.

Justice Kutigi reminded Akinbuli of the undertaking previously given to the panel, but the counsel requested another adjournment to enable him to make arrangements for the AA witnesses to appear.

The request prompted the tribunal chairman to question the continued delay, particularly given the length of time that had elapsed since the petition was filed.

“If you are not interested in this case, you these people (AA) should just close your case. If at this stage you have not made up your mind on what you want to do, we can’t just keep adjourning every time and you know that this is an election petition.

“We find this strange and we are not here to play. How does it sound for you to stand before us saying you will be looking for witnesses, after how many months? When was this case filed? Why not pursue this case? You are the counsel, try and take charge of this matter.”

Following the remarks, Akinbuli apologised to the panel and appealed for what he described as a final opportunity to ensure that the AA witnesses appeared at the next sitting.

The counsel assured the tribunal that the party would present its witnesses on Monday, September 28, saying he would “do the needful on the next day of adjournment.”

Counsel for INEC and Oyebanji did not oppose the request, allowing the tribunal to consider the additional opportunity sought by the AA.

Justice Kutigi consequently adjourned further hearing until Monday, September 28, when the tribunal is expected to continue with the petitions and give the AA another opportunity to present evidence through its witnesses.

The latest development adds to the tribunal’s recent emphasis on the need for the parties in the election petitions to proceed with their cases without unnecessary delays. The panel has previously expressed concerns over delays affecting proceedings in the petitions arising from the Ekiti governorship election.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Kano State has ranked first in the 2026 National Examination Council of Nigeria (NECO), with 74,413 candidates that obtained at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics.

The result showed that Lagos emerged second with 72,496 candidates and Oyo came third with 55,543 candidates.

The performance marks the second consecutive year that Kano has topped the NECO national performance chart, after recording the highest number of candidates with five credits, including English and Mathematics in the 2025 examination.

Reacting to the development, Gov. Abba Yusuf, in a statement by his spokesperson, Mr Sanusi Bature, commended the students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders for the outstanding performance.

Yusuf said the back-to-back performance was an indication that the state’s sustained investment in education was producing measurable results.

“Kano has maintained the first position in NECO twice in a row making the state as the leading SSCE performer for the two consecutive years, (2025 and 2026) respectively,” he said.

He assured the people of Kano that his administration would continue to prioritise education through increased funding, improved learning facilities, teacher recruitment and training, scholarships and support for indigent students.

As part of the interventions, he said, the state government spent over N4.4 billion in 2026 to sponsor candidates for Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, particularly indigent students.

The governor said the intervention was designed to remove financial barriers and enable students to participate in the examinations under better conditions.

He said the latest NECO result was a continuation of the improvement recorded by Kano students under the present administration.

“Education has consistently received the largest share of Kano State’s budget under Governor Yusuf; overshooting the UNESCO benchmark.”

“In 2024, education accounted for about 29.95 per cent of the state budget. The allocation increased to N168.35 billion, representing 31 per cent, in the 2025 budget.

“For 2026, the state allocated N405.35 billion to education, representing about 30 per cent of the N1,478, 829, 666, 130. 71 trillion budget,” he said.

The governor said the investment goes beyond examination sponsorship to include classroom renovation, teacher recruitment, learning materials, uniforms, scholarships and other interventions aimed at improving the quality of education.

The administration’s education policies have also attracted recognition at national and international levels, with Kano fast becoming a leading education reform hub in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2024, Yusuf received the Leadership Newspaper Governor of the Year Award for Education, while New Telegraph recognised him for educational development Governor of the year.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers also named the governor its Teachers’ Friendly Governor of the Year for 2024.

“In 2025, Blueprint Newspaper recognised Governor Yusuf as Governor of the Year for Education at the paper’s national conference in Abuja. While This Nigeria newspaper awarded him as courageous Governor of the year 2024.

“The administration also received education-related recognition at International space in London and Paris 2026, for its commitment to education with international literacy and learning award and the education spending award by the Universal Learning Solution and City University, Paris respectively,” he said.

He said the objective was to build an education system capable of providing Kano’s young people with the knowledge and skills required for higher education, employment, innovation and leadership as Kano has recorded over five million school children in the last annual school census.

(NAN)