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The G100 has proposed a Government of National Competence based on a single four-year transition term for Nigeria’s opposition parties.

Mallam Salihu Moh. Lukman presented the proposal on Monday at the Summit of Nigeria’s Opposition Political Parties held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

Representatives of the African Democratic Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party and Social Democratic Party attended the summit. Presidential and vice-presidential candidates and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives were also present.

Lukman said the proposed government would rest on competence, integrity, national inclusion and fair representation of every party that joins the effort. He said it would follow a disciplined Four-Year National Reset Programme.

“The Framework before you propose something more demanding than a merger of ambitions: a Government of National Competence, built on competence, integrity, national inclusion, and fair representation of every party that contributes to the effort,” he said.

He added that the arrangement must be secured by a political commitment to a single four-year term written into an enforceable Transition Charter.

Lukman stressed that the commitment must go beyond verbal promises. “We want to underline the word ‘enforceable.’ This gathering does not need more sincerity. Nigerian politics has never suffered from a shortage of sincere promises. What it has suffered from is promises that nobody could enforce when the person who made them changed his/her mind,” he said.

He insisted that any agreement reached must be written, witnessed and carry consequences.

Lukman recalled the history of opposition politics since 1999. He said the opposition contested the presidency divided in 2003, 2007 and 2011 but achieved victory in 2015 after parties agreed on rules of engagement. He said that discipline was abandoned in 2023, when opposition votes were split.

“The winner took just under nine million votes. One opposition candidate took close to seven million. Another took just over six million. Thirteen million votes on one side of the argument, under nine million on the other. And the side with fewer votes formed the government, lawfully, constitutionally, and entirely predictably,” he said.

On the structure of the proposed cooperation, Lukman disclosed that three standing coalition bodies are being proposed. These are a Central Leadership Committee, a Publicity and Communication Committee and a Legal Committee.

He said five Working Groups, each with one representative from every participating party, would produce working papers within four weeks. The papers would cover a National Covenant for Democratic Renewal, a Single-Term Transition Charter, a National Reform Programme, a Framework for Opposition Unity and a Roadmap to a Common Presidential Candidate.

Lukman clarified that the summit was not asking any party to dissolve or any candidate to stand down. “It is not asking any party to dissolve. It is not asking any party to disappear into another party. It is not asking any candidate to stand down this morning… That question is not on the agenda of this Summit, and any report that says otherwise will be wrong,” he said.

He urged party leaders to approach the process with candour. He warned that concealed positions had undermined previous coalition efforts.

“A hard line declared this morning is a problem that can be solved between now and the Second Summit. A hard line concealed this morning is a coalition that collapses in October, and that one will collapse in public too, only later, and at far greater cost to everybody in this room,” he said.

Lukman said the G100 convened the summit without backing any particular candidate or party. “We are not promoting any candidate, no preference among the six parties in this hall, and nothing to gain from one of you rather than another.

“Our only interest is the one stated in the Doctrine we published on August 2: that a democracy is sustained not merely by holding elections, but by the credible possibility of an alternative government,” he said.

He said the proposed framework would be developed further by the working groups and presented to a second summit for consideration and adoption.

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is strengthening identity verification for candidates ahead of the 2027 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), with facial/image capture and biometric authentication remaining central to the registration process.

Prospective 2027 UTME candidates are already seeing preparations for the next examination cycle, as JAMB has published a list of 2027 approved registration centres on its official Centre Management System.

The development has renewed attention on JAMB’s use of facial and biometric technologies to establish the identity of candidates and tackle impersonation and examination malpractice.

Facial capturing: What exactly is changing?

Candidates should note that facial or image capturing is not completely new to JAMB.

The Board’s existing registration guidelines require a candidate’s photograph and all 10 fingerprints to be captured at an accredited CBT centre. JAMB also requires biometric authentication before a candidate’s registration slip is printed.

JAMB’s 2026 training manual went further by requiring participating CBT centres to use approved live cameras to capture a second image of candidates during registration.

According to the manual, the live-camera requirement was introduced to minimise manipulation of candidates’ photographs detected during previous registration exercises.

Therefore, reports describing the 2027 exercise as the year JAMB is “introducing facial capturing” should be understood in the context of an existing biometric and live-image verification system that the Board continues to strengthen.

Why is JAMB tightening facial and biometric verification?

The major objective is to prevent impersonation and substitution of candidates during examinations.

JAMB has previously warned that capturing fresh facial and fingerprint biometrics at later stages can create opportunities for substitution of candidates and examination takers.

In its policy document on curbing examination malpractice, the Board stated that fresh facial and fingerprint images could facilitate impersonation and substitution of paid examination takers. It also said it would make candidates’ images and biometric information available to relevant educational assessment bodies.

The implication is that JAMB wants the identity established during registration to remain linked to the candidate throughout the examination and admission process.

5 things 2027 UTME candidates should know

1. Your face and fingerprints matter

Candidates should expect identity verification to remain an important part of registration and examination.

JAMB’s current procedure requires photograph capture and the capture of all 10 fingerprints at accredited CBT centres.

2. Candidates must personally complete registration

Candidates should not hand over their registration process entirely to agents.

JAMB requires candidates to personally present their Profile Code and e-PIN at an accredited CBT centre for registration.

3. Check your information before biometric authentication

Candidates are advised to carefully check their names, date of birth, gender, course and institution choices and other details before confirming the registration with their fingerprint.

JAMB states that biometric authentication is used to confirm the validity of the candidate’s fingerprint and finalise the registration.

4. Use only approved CBT centres

JAMB has already published its 2027 approved registration centres, signalling that preparations for the next registration cycle are underway.

Candidates should avoid unofficial agents or centres claiming to offer special facial-capture services outside JAMB’s approved registration process.

5. Do not pay for a separate “facial capture” exercise based on social-media claims

As of August 31, 2026, JAMB’s publicly available official materials do not establish a separate compulsory payment or standalone exercise described as a newly introduced “2027 facial capture.”

What the official documents establish is an existing system involving candidate photographs, live image capture and fingerprint biometrics, which JAMB continues to strengthen as part of its anti-malpractice measures.

What candidates should do now

Prospective 2027 UTME candidates should:

• Obtain and safeguard their NIN details.
• Use only their genuine identity information.
• Avoid multiple registration.
• Ensure their photograph is properly captured.
• Ensure all 10 fingerprints are captured correctly.
• Carefully verify their registration details before biometric authentication.
• Register only at JAMB-approved CBT centres.
• Follow JAMB’s official announcements rather than unverified WhatsApp, Facebook or TikTok messages.

JAMB’s official FAQ also provides procedures for candidates whose fingerprints cannot be read. Such candidates with biometric abnormalities are handled under a special arrangement by the Board.

Bottom line

The major message for 2027 UTME candidates is simple: identity verification is becoming increasingly difficult to bypass.

While facial/image capture is not entirely new to JAMB, the Board’s continued deployment of live cameras, fingerprint authentication and biometric tracking shows a clear move towards tighter candidate identification.

Candidates preparing for the 2027 UTME should therefore ensure that the identity they use during registration is accurate and genuinely theirs because their photograph, face and fingerprints are increasingly becoming part of the digital identity trail used to authenticate them.

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Fresh documents and intelligence reports have triggered renewed calls for the immediate suspension of the Managing Director of Chinua Achebe International Cargo Airport (CAIA), Umueri, Mr. Martins Emeka Nwafor, pending an independent investigation into alleged irregularities in the management of revenues generated by the airport.

The documents, reportedly dated April 19, 2026, and August 25, 2026, contain allegations that revenues generated from airport services, including the CAICA VIP Lounge and cargo operations, may have been paid into private accounts rather than the officially designated revenue account of the Anambra International Cargo/Passenger Airport.

According to the reports cited by the African Writers Centre, proceeds allegedly generated from the airport’s VIP Lounge were paid into accounts bearing private names, while another report raised similar concerns over revenues associated with cargo movement through an airline operating at the facility.

The organisation stressed that the allegations remain subject to verification and called on the Anambra State Government and relevant investigative authorities to independently establish the authenticity of the documents and trace the movement of the funds in question.

It urged the state government to conduct a comprehensive forensic audit covering all revenue generated from the VIP Lounge, cargo handling and related charges, passenger and commercial services, as well as official and third-party accounts allegedly used in airport transactions.

The proposed investigation, according to the statement, should also examine bank statements, reconciliation records, payment instructions, maintenance expenditure, contracts, procurement records and the relationship between revenues generated at the airport and funds ultimately remitted into government-approved accounts.

The African Writers Centre further called for investigators to determine whether any private account had been formally authorised to collect revenue on behalf of the airport and, if such authorisation existed, identify who granted it, the financial framework under which it operated and the accountability mechanisms attached to it.

The group also appealed to Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to intervene, arguing that the allegations had become a matter of public interest because the airport is a strategic public asset established with public resources.

It specifically called for Nwafor to step aside or be suspended from duties directly connected to the investigation to protect relevant records, personnel and evidence from possible interference.

According to the statement, such a step should not be interpreted as a declaration of guilt, but as a measure to facilitate an impartial investigation.

The organisation also said Nwafor should be given an opportunity to formally respond to the allegations and provide documentary explanations for any transactions identified in the reports.

The statement further expressed concern over what it described as declining operational standards at the airport, citing complaints relating to infrastructure, flight fares, maintenance, safety and security, as well as the general environment at the facility.

It argued that the concerns extend beyond alleged poor performance to questions surrounding transparency and public accountability.

“An airport can survive a broken generator. It cannot survive a broken system of accountability,” the statement said.

The African Writers Centre therefore urged the Anambra State Government to order an immediate investigation, open the airport’s financial records for scrutiny, reconcile all accounts used for revenue collection and take appropriate action if financial regulations or public trust were found to have been breached.

It said the ultimate objective should be to restore public confidence in the airport and ensure that the facility operates efficiently and delivers the economic benefits for which it was established.

The group concluded with a call for Nwafor to step aside, the preservation of evidence, a comprehensive audit and an impartial investigation, stressing that anyone found culpable should face the consequences prescribed by law.

The allegations contained in the reports have not been independently established, and any conclusions regarding wrongdoing should await the outcome of a competent investigation.