Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, reportedly snubbed 34 phone calls from his political godfather, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

The development has sparked speculation about a growing rift between the two, despite their longstanding political ties.

Sources suggest that the governor’s decision to ignore Kwankwaso’s calls may signal tensions within their political alliance.

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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, said on Monday that the commission would need to improve on two critical areas of logistics and results management, in the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.

He said the commission had learned some lessons from the shortcomings in the Edo State election, and that correction would be made in the coming election.

Mr Yakubu, a professor, spoke in Akure, the Ondo State capital, while assessing the state of readiness for the election.

He said: “We are here, essentially, to observe what is happening and to acknowledge the good work that the office has done.

“Over the next few days, we will be meeting with political parties, civil society organisations, the media, and security agencies.”

He said one of the planned activities ahead of the poll is the conduct of mock accreditation of voters, “which will take place in 16 polling units across six local government areas within the three senatorial zones of the state.”

“This is primarily why we are here. Additionally, as part of the activities already outlined, we will hold a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, and the following day, the National Peace Committee will invite all stakeholders to participate in the signing of the National Peace Accord. This is the essence of our visit,” he added.

On the lessons learned from the Edo State governorship election and previous elections, Mr Yakubu said, ” I have learned valuable lessons, not only from the last election but also from previous ones. Essentially, there are two key challenges.

“The first is logistics — ensuring that polling units open promptly on election day. The second challenge is result management. My assurance to voters in Ondo State is that they will witness significant improvements in these areas.”

He added that one of the activities he would also observe is the mock accreditation of voters.

A peace accord is also expected to be signed among political parties and their candidates.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Agboola Ajayi, had earlier called for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Toyin Babalola, saying she would not be fair during the election because of her birthplace.

But INEC dispelled the allegations, saying Mrs Babalola is not from Ondo State and would not be partial in the polls.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a swipe at Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, whom it described as the leading but rather shoddy drummer for his 2027 political ambition.

Makinde is said to be nursing a presidential ambition on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the incumbent President Bola Tinubu also from the South-West geopolitical zone like him, in the next 2027 election cycle.

But, APC said while Nigeria’s democracy affords Makinde the liberty to his political aspiration, however, engaging in reckless executive flippancy, at the expense of the job he was elected to do as governor, was a disservice to the good people of Oyo State.

The ruling party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Sunday, said the Oyo State governor had at a recent event in Ibadan, blamed APC for the turmoil in his party, the PDP and other opposition parties.

Morka said, at the same time, Makinde bragged that a decision to cooperate with his Osun State counterpart to advance the interest of his “moribund party” in South-West would be beyond the influence of APC.

“If Makinde knew how best to keep APC’s influence at bay, exactly why has he not executed that strategy in “protection” of his party nationally? Like the proverbial bad workman that blames his tools, Makinde and his co-confused leaders of the PDP should quit pointing fingers at the APC and take full responsibility for their disgraceful failure to handle the party’s implosion and decay.

“Makinde’s unhinged 2027 ambition cannot be founded upon his unguarded and unjustified attacks against our great Party or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that has launched the boldest and most ambitious reform effort in history to transform our country’s economy and build a solid foundation for progress.

“Governor Makinde has failed to prove himself as an effective leader. His lackluster performance as Governor speaks for itself, and undermines his credibility. Instead of prioritizing the needs of Oyo people who elected him to tackle their local issues, he has chosen to divert his attention and squander the state’s resources in pursuit of unhinged 2027 ambition. Makinde must know that Nigeria’s scale and complexities demand more than his vain and self-indulgent ambition.

“Makinde cannot even speak for the people of Oyo state regarding their future electoral choices or decisions let alone speak for Nigerians. Makinde and his partisan cohorts are only worried stiff that the looming transformation and prosperity from President Tinubu’s economic policies will consign their 2027 ambitions and calculations into the trash-bin of political irrelevance.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to stand firm in support of President Tinubu as the administration’s reform policies begin to yield the desired benefits for all Nigerians,” APC spokesman Morka stated.