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After winning the Rivers State governorship elections in 2015, he was served a petition that contested its validity. A tribunal was set up, and it was reported that the INEC awarded him votes that were five times higher than the number of registered voters in the state at the time.
Long story short, he kept evading the tribunals until the court had to paste their processes on the walls of his house, since he wouldn’t show up. On October 24th, 2015, the election was annulled and the court ordered a rerun.
But he managed to stay on as governor
He fought the case all the way to the supreme court, where he was able to have the verdict overturned in January 2016. This allowed him to stay on as governor.
He declared free tuition in Rivers state’s public primary and secondary schools
After finding out that public school administrators collected the fees for personal use, he declared that primary and secondary education would be free within the state. This included fees for exams like NECO and WAEC, which would all be taken care of by the state.
He did a lot more to improve education in Rivers state
His administration invested billions of naira in the school system. He revamped school structures and built new ones across the 23 local government areas within the state.
He ordered the demolition of a hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic
While certain governors denied the existence of COVID-19, Wike took extreme measures to contain it. One of these measures was ordering the demolition of two hotels that’d disobeyed the lockdown order and stayed open for business. Governor Wike got wind of this and ordered the demolition and establishment of a school on the land.
He and his band gave us many hit songs
It’s safe to say Governor Wike is the biggest hitmaker without a Headies award in Nigeria — he doesn’t need one because he’s bigger than the award anyway. He and his band have given us incredible live shows, and even though they were either singing his praises or mocking his enemies, we remain grateful for their artistry.
We mentioned how Governor Yahaya Bello deserves an award for being the best in construction. But he doesn’t come close to Governor Wike, who constructed three flyovers in sixteen months. It makes you wonder what he’s doing right, because other governors spend years doing the same thing.
He signed a law allowing women to inherit properties
It might be surprising to hear, but there are places in Nigeria where a woman is still not allowed to inherit properties from her family. This extremely discriminatory custom has left a lot of women and families in poverty when the wealth of their parents or spouses are torn up among other members of the family. In 2022, Governor Wike signed a law against it within Rivers state.
But he handles the state like a dictatorship
If this wasn’t already obvious from the unwarranted demolition of a hotel building, he once asked his aide to arrest two people for making noise while he was giving a speech.
He de-recognised a former governor of the state
In 2007, Rotimi Amaechi won the primary elections to become PDP’s governorship candidate in Rivers state. But it was awarded to Celestine Omeiha instead, who eventually went on to win the general elections. Rotimi Amaechi fought this in court and Omeiha was removed as governor, as he never should have contested in the first place.
In October 2022, Governor Wike signed a legal instrument into law that de-recognised Omeiha as ever being a governor in the state. The man takes no prisoners when he doesn’t like you. That one’s for sure.
Overall Grade: B-
In spite of his huge focus on infrastructure and education within the state, his administration is rife with high-handedness that borders on tyrannical, and is notorious for electoral sneakiness.
In the midst of Nigeria’s cash scarcity and post-election chaos, one of the nation’s female legends was pronounced dead on the morning of March 12. She was Franca Afegbua, Nigeria’s first elected female senator.
Franca Afegbua, Nigeria’s first female senator [Vanguard Newspapers]
But who was she really and how did she make her mark in Nigeria’s history? Let’s dive into some fun facts about her:
She has roots tracing back to the ancient Benin Kingdom
Afegbua was born on October 20, 1943. She was a native of Okpella, a town in Etsako East Local Government (once known as Bendel). The Etsako people are one of the few tribes in modern Edo land who originate from the Benin Kingdom and maintain some of its traditions. Some of them include dialect, and teeth filing amongst others.
The Etsako people
She was a badass hairdresser
Franca was known to be a luxury, Bulgaria-trained hairdresser in Lagos in the 70s. She was so good at her job, that she won an international hairstyling competition in 1977.
Joseph Sarwuan Tarka, a former minister for Transport and then Communications under General Yakubu Gowon was Franca’s friend and plug into the political party, the National Party of Nigeria.
Joseph Tarka
Women helped her win the Bendel Senatorial seat in 1983
When Franca decided to run for the Bendel Senatorial seat in October 1983, few people thought she could win it. This was due to the high level of respect that both the then Bendel governor and senator had at that time.
Dey play
What they didn’t realise was the fact that she had garnered the trust of enough women to support her. This led to her winning the seat by a slim margin against her opponent, John Umolu.
Her tenure only lasted three months
Afuegbu was only able to serve as Bendel senator from October to December 1983. This was due to Muhammadu Buhari’s 1983 military coup, which caused an end to Nigeria’s 2nd Republic.
Buhari as military head of state [Premium Times]
Franca Afegbua would be forever regarded as one of the first women who inspired women’s participation in politics.
In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, we’re introduced to this unforgettable line by Juliet Capulet that goes: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
The rest of the world might side with Juliet here, but Nigerians might beg to differ. We have a very strong affection for names and their connotations. For example, in 2012, when former president Goodluck Jonathan decided to honour MKO Abiola by changing the University of Lagos to MAULAG, students of UNILAG protested and even sued the president, who eventually had to back down. In another example, Osun state has been in fisticuffs over the years following a proposal to change it to the State of Osun — weird, we know.
[Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun / Vanguard]
Given that the naira scarcity has dominated discussions over the last few weeks, we decided to look into how our currency even got its name in the first place. If you already know, then chapeau to you. If you don’t, the answer may (or may not) surprise you.
A brief history of our currency
Between 1907 and 1958, Nigeria used the British West African Pound issued by the West African Currency Board that was set up by the British authorities. This was the currency used across British West Africa. At the time, the pound and the pound sterling were at parity; that is, one pound equalled one pound sterling.
[Twenty-shilling note / West African Currency Board]
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was established by parliament with the CBN Act of 1958. By July 1959, it began operations and started issuing the Nigerian pound, which was in use until 1973.
How the naira got its name
On January 1, 1973, the Nigerian naira was introduced. It was exchanged at ₦2 to £1. At the time, Obafemi Awolowo was the federal commissioner for finance. He had the honour of naming our currency, now fifty years old.
A firsthand account of what inspired the name comes from his daughter, Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu. Here’s what she said in a 2016 interview with Punch when asked how her father came about the name “naira”:
“He just took the name of Nigeria and collapsed it to Naira. That’s what he told us, and that was how he arrived at the name ‘naira’, and that was when he was the federal commissioner for finance.”
For this and his contributions towards the creation of the Nigerian state, he has been immortalised by having his portrait grace the ₦100 note. But that’s not all there is to it. He’s also said to have named the kobo. How did that one come about? Well, kobo is a corruption of the word “copper”, which coins were made of then.
As of today, March 13, 2023, £1 is now exchanged for ₦912. Crazy eh?
That said, could Awolowo have created a sexier name for our currency? Probably, lol. Would a sexier name have allowed the naira’s value to appreciate over the years? Clearly not, which was Juliet’s point all along.
As Nigeria’s 2022/3023 election season comes to a close, one cannot help but note how exhilarating it’s been. Earlier in the season, eventful primaries triggered an upsurge in energy and voter registration, particularly among youth. The emergence of a youth-propelled third force candidate in the person of the Labour Party’s (LP) Peter Obi allowed them to dream up endless possibilities of bringing sanity into Nigerian politics.
However, reality often differs widely from expectation, and the atmosphere was thrown into a sullen mood following the declaration of the election winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
There’s been running commentary online about how the results may have dampened the hopes and enthusiasm of young Nigerians. In a conversation with my mum and her friends over the weekend, we were left without any doubt that INEC had failed to deliver credible elections, especially with reports coming from Rivers state. We were dumbfounded at INEC’s audacity in declaring a winner following the stunts that were pulled that included manipulated results, voter suppression as well as threats to the life of the state’s collation officer.
[Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike / Premium Times]
While we’re still coming to terms with how INEC handled the presidential and national assembly elections poorly, let’s not forget that governorship and state house of assembly seats are still up for grabs. Citizen already explained here why the March 18 elections are essential.
If you need to know who is contesting in your ward, here is a list of all the candidates for Saturday’s elections. Look at it and get familiar with who best represents your interest.
Here’s a list of things you’d need to carry along as you prepare for the March 18 elections.
Election day must-haves
If you already have your PVC, here’s a list of things we believe you’ll need while exercising your civic duties.
A bath
Chances are, you’d be in a crowd, line, or small huddle. Whatever the case, you’d be in close contact with people. So remember to take a bath and not be the reason anyone wouldn’t vote for your candidate. A quick shower, mouthwash, and spritz of deodorant are advised—extra points for perfumes and lotion.
Water bottles
Now except your polling unit is in Victoria Garden City (VGC) like the one we saw with a barbecue stand on Twitter in the past week, chances are there would be no vendors at your unit. So grab a bottle of water for yourself and another for a stranger.
Wide-brimmed hat
This one sounds foreign, but it protects you from the sun. And If you still feel the hat is ridiculous, then the face cap is for you. It protects your face and eyes from heavy sunlight. Throw in a sunshade for 2FA.
Snacks
Reports from the just concluded elections indicate that you might spend all day there to ensure your votes are uploaded. So remember to pack some snacks with you. Depending on how many people turn up at your polling unit, you might need to dust your food flask from secondary school, university, or your in-office days. Your culinary skills are also going to be put to the test.
Raincoat
These days, the weather is as unpredictable as the exchange rate. If it rains, you need something to keep you from getting wet, and a raincoat is perfect. We’re sure INEC wouldn’t provide canopies and seats that day, so stay prepared and get a raincoat.
Things you might have to lend INEC
One common theme during the elections was the lack of preparedness by the election body. The performance of INEC was below par, considering the ₦305 billion budgeted by the federal government for the elections.
Before you think this is unusual, remember this lady from a unit in Gwarimpa, Abuja, who had to switch on her 5G for INEC officials to complete the exercise at her PU. At some polling units, officials cited lack of internet as the reason they would not upload the election result.
Bottle of Ink
Don’t be surprised; you might have to lend INEC officials some ink.
Power supply
During the February 25 elections, voting continued until midnight in some places. Since you can’t rely on the national grid to provide a steady power supply, an alternative might be necessary. So carry your torches, generators or car headlights to your polling units.
Refreshment
INEC officials were rumoured to have been on call for over 24 hours without food or drinks that should have been allocated during the preparation for the exercise. If the INEC officials at your polling unit wear long faces, try offering them a loaf of bread. They might be hungry but shy.
Remember to move in groups as you go out on March 18 to vote again. Stay away from lonely roads. Raise the alarm at first sight of violence and be your brother’s keeper. In the meantime, encourage people to come out and vote on Saturday. If they need reasons to vote, Citizen listed some here. You won’t get another chance at it for the next four years, so please go out and cast your vote.
The state elections, i.e., Gubernatorial and state House of Assembly, are eight days away, and politicians are running helter-skelter to ensure we see them everywhere, from our fridges to our dreams too.
It’s not news that during this election period, Desmond Elliot certain members of the state House of Assembly are receiving heat for commissioning projects that should have never left the drafts in the first place.
However, it’s important to mention that many of us are confusing the local government’s functions with that of the State Assembly. So let’s break down what this legislative arm of government is and its functions.
What is the State House of Assembly?
The state House of Assembly is established according to Section 90 of the Nigerian constitution. It is headed by a Speaker, and its members, called honourables, are each elected to represent the specific needs of their local constituencies.
The number of seats in each state assembly varies between 24 to 40; for instance, Abia has 24 seats, and Lagos has 40. And some of the functions of the State House of Assembly are:
Lawmaking
The State Assembly has the legislative power in a state, and the functions of a legislature are to make, change and annul laws. The laws are expected to be practical and ensure peace and good governance.
Confirmation of appointments
According to Section 192(2) of the constitution, the State Assembly is responsible for approving the appointments of Commissioners, State Chief Judges and Board members. Without the approval of the State House of Assembly, the appointments would be considered invalid.
Oversight functions
Under sections 120-128 of the Nigerian constitution, the state House of Assembly has the power to supervise other arms of government. This is to curtail corruption and inefficiency in state administration and promote transparency.
Representation
Members of the State Assembly must effectively represent their constituents to ensure they aren’t marginalised. They’re to advocate for the needs, protect the interests, and become the voice and ears of their constituents in government.
Quasi-Judicial functions
The state Assembly has the power to review charges made against members of the executive, i.e., a governor or deputy governor, and remove or impeach from office if found guilty.
So, now you know what your state House of Assembly should do, so maybe it’s time to stop dragging its members but instead hold the Chairman of your local government by the neck.
You can find out what the functions of your local government are here.
On March 3, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) naira redesign policy. It noted how the president flouted its February 8 order asking the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to end the recognition of old naira notes as legal tender and described it as a hallmark of a dictatorship.
Here are the words of Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement:
“The rule of law upon which our democratic governance is founded becomes illusory if the President of the country or any authority or person refuses to obey the orders of courts. The disobedience of orders of courts by the President in a constitutional democracy as ours is a sign of the constitution’s failure and that democratic governance has become a mere pretension and is now replaced by autocracy or dictatorship.”
[CBN governor Godwin Emefiele / Channels]
The Supreme Court ordered that the old ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1,000 notes should remain in circulation until December 31, 2023. This was a week ago. While some banks have started issuing the old notes, it’s unclear whether compliance is universal because cash is still scarce.
A CBN spokesperson recently said the old notes are now legal tender. Still, the CBN hasn’t issued an official statement, and the federal government has maintained an unusual silence.
Citizen spoke to some Nigerians to hear their thoughts on this issue. Here’s what they had to say.
Elizabeth
“I see the step taken by the CBN to reduce the naira in circulation to conform people to digital money as a welcome development. This is because many transactions and businesses have been bypassing taxes for years. This will help to audit most of their records properly.
“Also, I see it as a means to reduce corruption and undocumented payment. As a citizen and civil servant, it has helped me curb avoidable and unnecessary expenses. It has saved me from billing — the usual ‘drop something’ when you go to offices and other departments.
“I mainly use naira notes for transportation purposes (when I am not driving). It also helped me to review my expenses, especially when I go on market errands.
“Regarding the charges, I use non-traditional bank apps and cards to pay, so instead of paying charges, I earn interest for using their cards to make purchases.
“The CBN governor hasn’t said a thing about it because he is trying to salvage the policy, maybe looking for means and ways to make it work. The Supreme Court has given an order. Based on the verdict, I think the Supreme Court told the FG to return the old notes than telling the CBN. The president’s silence is obviously because he still supports the policy. As far as I’m concerned, I’m 70% ok with the naira scarcity.”
Layi
“Malls are packed because it seems it’s the way people can buy things via e-channels. You’ll find 30-minute queues at Spar and Shoprite. Cards are failing, so you have to transfer and wait. It’s been very time-consuming, which is ironic.
“Regarding the Supreme Court ruling, I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think the ruling is useful per se. If it’s legal tender, people should accept it. No one will have confidence in the notes if the CBN says nothing.
“Also, the ruling makes it look like the court is in charge of the money supply — which is wrong. As you can see, the CBN can still frustrate the whole ruling by not circulating old notes, not printing more notes etc.
“It’s a cashless policy — that was clear from the start, and it’s another attempt to get Nigerians to dump cash. It wasn’t Buhari’s place to intervene in the matter in the first place but the CBN’s. Perhaps, the faulty implementation made him speak, but it didn’t concern him. If all went well, no one would need his input.
“You don’t call Buhari when banks hold your money, and you rarely call the CBN except you need a firmer hand to put your bank in check. So Buhari doesn’t have to say anything, and the CBN ideally still has control of the legal tender, so what do we do with the ruling? At best, banks accept the notes again, which can solve the problem. I can accept the notes if I know banks would accept them from me.”
“The ruling has changed my purchasing experience. I now use Justrite Store more than I ever had. I only use cash for transport. The CBN won’t say anything till after the elections. They don’t need to since you can only spend the money if they release it. The policy has destroyed volumes of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). We are bleeding volumes massively.
“On Buhari, he can’t openly disobey the Supreme Court order, so I expect him to be mute.”
Bolaji
“For me, pardon my language; it’s pure BS. To even collect old notes from the banks is hard. To enter the bank, problem. I have failed POS transactions that they haven’t refunded. When I try to purchase stuff, sellers ask me to put ₦50 or ₦100 as an extra charge. What if what I want to buy is ₦400, and there’s ₦420 in my account? How do I wing it? I have to reduce whatever I want to purchase. It makes no sense.”
Victor
“The primary way this policy has affected me is to reduce my purchasing power. If I want to buy things like Suya or table water which the informal sector of the economy thrives on, I have to think twice because I don’t have an abundance of cash and transfers aren’t reliable. Who wants to wait for a Suya seller to confirm whether a ₦500 transaction has gone through?
“Everyone knows Godwin Emefiele is a yes man. At this point, the CBN doesn’t even have an opinion and is waiting on Buhari. Buhari himself appears confused. I think that’s why the CBN hasn’t said anything yet.
“Do I expect Buhari to speak on this issue? Yes, but not anytime soon because he has a lot on his plate with the controversies surrounding the conduct of the elections. He’s dealing with the transition as he’s tired of the office. The CBN is supposed to say something about it. When? I don’t know, maybe next week. That guy operates on vibes.”
The Nigerian experience is physical, emotional, and sometimes international. No one knows it better than our features on #TheAbroadLife, a series where we detail and explore Nigerian experiences while living abroad.
This week’s Abroad Life subject is half Nigerian from his mother’s side and half Ghanaian from his late father’s side. However, he has spent the majority of his life in Nigeria. He recounts his motive for going on holiday in Kumasi, Ghana in 2019, his experiences while there and his plans to revisit the town again.
Was 2019 the first time you made a trip to Ghana? If so, how did you prepare for the journey?
Yes, 2019 was the first time I had ever been in Ghana before. I was going there to apply for my international passport in Ghana as well as see my grandmother and family members.
The preparation for me was pretty straightforward. All I needed to do was pack a bag and have my documents of origin ready. However, the main problem I encountered while preparing was exchanging the naira to cedis (but over there, they call their cedis “Ghana”). Back then, GH₵15 was equivalent to ₦1k. When I went to Ghana, I had to make a budget before travelling because I didn’t know what to expect.
Nice. So can you describe how the journey went from Nigeria to Ghana?
So I saw the trip from Nigeria to Ghana as fun, even though a lot of people may probably have seen it as dangerous. I travelled to Ghana by road and left the shores of Nigeria at around 1 a.m. I used a cab at the Ghana park in Agege, Lagos. However, due to low patronage that day, the driver opted to leave with only me in it. In turn, the man would use the opportunity to make stops and deliver messages.
So I’d say the trip really started when we got to the Idiroko border town in Ogun State. The town is situated across the Nigeria-Benin Republic border. When you get to Idiroko, you’d have to get down and the driver would require you to bring money for customs duties. I think I paid ₦27k then for the journey. ₦17k is for the driver while ₦10k is for “settling” the customs officials placed at the border. They’d also check your passport to see if it’s stamped or not. After my passport was checked and the customs dues were paid, we continued on the journey.
The Idiroko border in Ogun State, Nigeria [Vanguard Newspapers]
I’d say my first culture shock outside Nigeria happened right from the trip. When we were on the road, we had to pass through plantations. Like the bus was literally being driven in the middle of bushes —
Wait, bushes?
Yes o. At one point, I almost got worried about the driver’s intentions and whether he was trying to kidnap me, but due to my personaIity, I didn’t really get scared. I later realised that it was a tactic to hide from police and security officials. We always had to switch on the inner lights of the bus whenever we sighted the police.
There was oil bunkering going on too, as we could see lots of kegs filled with petrol and diesel. We saw some security men in the bushes, and we had to “settle” with money as well.
When we got to Cotonou, a town in the Benin Republic, I noticed that I didn’t see any fuel station on that long stretch of road, which I found to be quite odd. At every bus stop, you’d see people buying fuel in kegs on the road. We then passed Togo and then we got to Aflao Border in Ghana. There you have to change your money to cedis.
The Aflao border in Ghana
From the Aflao border, I alighted the vehicle and took a tro-tro (which is the equivalent of a Nigerian danfo) to Circle Market in Accra, and from there I entered a cab to the bus park. At the park, I took a luxurious bus to my stop at Kumasi, which was my final destination.
Sights of Kumasi Market, Ghana
That was quite the journey. How would you describe your experiences in Ghana?
I’d say that I got a lot of culture shocks.
The first thing that definitely stood out for me was the uninterrupted power supply. The lights only went off when it was extremely windy. Once the wind subsided, the power would come back on. Even when it rained, there would still be power.
Another thing that shocked me was the drinks. They also have hawkers as we do in Nigeria, but the hawkers always have cold drinks, some of them even fully blocked by ice. But the hawkers in Ghana hardly have any cold drinks, just maybe mildly chilled at best. The drinks and beverages in Ghana taste a lot better and richer than their counterparts in Nigeria. For instance, Coke in Ghana tastes way better than Coke in Nigeria, the Peak milk in Ghana tastes more creamy etc.
Then I also realised that Ghanaians are extremely friendly and accommodating. When I entered tro-tros to various places and they noticed that I couldn’t speak Twi (a Ghanaian variation of Pidgin English), the bus conductors would always want to make sure that I didn’t miss my way at any point in time.
However, there were a lot of deaths in Kumasi, Ghana. In Lagos, you can celebrate the weekend with parties but in Ghana, it seems as though it’s being celebrated with funerals. Every weekend, a young man must die in Ghana, but it’s not like the crime rate is so bad. I never found out why that was a thing.
However, their women seem to live very long. My grandma lived to be 100 years plus before she died.
I can’t really say I had a unique experience with Ghanaian food, however. I resigned myself to eating only bread and soaking garri because I have a sensitive stomach.
What was your experience with getting your international passport?
Funny enough, I was unsuccessful in getting the passport. Ghana has this stereotype about Nigerians being bad because the Nigerians there have gone to constitute a lot of nuisance. They bribe their way through to get a Ghana birth certificate, learn Twi and successfully get a passport.
Because of this stereotype, applying for my international passport was hell. I went to the passport office and tried to show them proof of my Ghanaian roots, but they didn’t want to give the passport to me. The immigration man told me that I can’t hold two passports, but I see people doing this all the time. Basically, they were not sure if I was a Ghanaian and they thought my documents were forged. They requested my dad’s birth certificate but I couldn’t because my dad died in Nigeria a long time ago.
They then requested that I bring my Ghanaian relatives. I brought my father’s mother and my uncle. They then asked me to swear an affidavit at the Ghana High Court, which I did. But they were not satisfied. Whenever I brought proof, they always turned me down. I even got threatened by the police at one point.
I had to leave off doing it because I had to go back to school in Nigeria and finish my HND, but this is something that I’d go back for in the nearest future.
How would you compare the standard of living in Ghana to Nigeria?
Living in Kumasi, Ghana is more slow-paced than in Lagos. In Lagos, everything is fast-paced and you have to be extra smart. Kumasi feels like a semblance of sanity, with everyone minding their own business.
But besides that, they have the same things we do. The same hawkers, the same type of businesses, open markets etc.
In terms of prices, things are not cheaper in Ghana. In fact, if you are not careful, you can almost overspend your budget in Ghana. What I did in the first days was to calculate prices in Naira and then recalculate in cedis so as to price effectively. Let’s say I want to buy a dress for GH₵ 70. I’d think firstly that GH₵ 70 is like ₦70. Then I then check the cedi to naira exchange rate and then realize that if I were in Nigeria, that would probably amount to ₦5,500, which is quite high. Then once I notice that, I can then bargain with the vendor to sell it to me at a lower price. It’s easier for me that way.
Interesting. How do you feel about the governance of the two countries?
Well, I won’t say that there is nowhere without bad governance. When I was there, my cousins complained about the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, and how he wasn’t doing enough for the country.
However, from the little I saw, things were better in a sense. I once passed an army barracks in Ghana wearing camouflage cap and they didn’t say anything, but I dare not wear that in Nigeria. When you see the police in Ghana, you feel protected unlike in Nigeria, where they can harass and extort money from you at any point in time. I have been a victim of police harassment in Nigeria one too many times.
Would you ever relocate to Ghana?
Well, I’d definitely love to relocate to Ghana. I’d love to get a house in Ghana too. The culture is rich and the women are beautiful. It’s definitely a place I’d love to make my holiday spot time and time again.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that Nigerian women know how to stand out — whether it’s in wickedness or politics. This article spotlights some of the baddies who’ve graced the Nigerian political scene.
Dr Ify Aniebo
She’s not exactly a politician, but even though. If you’ve spent enough time on Obasanjo’s internet in the last two weeks, you must have come across Dr Ify, wife to Lagos state gubernatorial aspirant, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
We don’t know what “baddie wife” means here, but if it’s referring to the fact that Dr Ify is an award-winning scientist, Oxford and Harvard alumna, and gorgeous, gorgeous woman, inject it.
Ojei Princess Chichi
Princess Chichi is proof that what a man can do, a woman can do with ice on her neck, a deep-wave weave, red lipstick and a turban. She may not have won, but contesting against 17 male candidates in the 2023 presidential election has won her a spot on our list. She also has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the North Eastern University, USA and an MBA from the Regent’s Business School, London (intellectual purr). Prior to politics, she worked as a finance specialist and the Executive Director of Nuel Ojei Holdings. If not for INEC’s bias for secondary school certificate holders, what’s election that she can’t win?
One-time First Lady of Anambra state and wife to presidential aspirant Peter Obi. This philanthropist, entrepreneur and women’s rights activist was instrumental in the establishment of the family court at Anambra’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development to tackle domestic violence and abuse. She also provided agricultural grants for women and youths. Now we just need her to point us in the direction of her wig vendor because it’s all in the hair, TBH.
Stella Obasanjo
Because all the beautiful women fighting for a space in politics have reminded us of how much of a baddie the late First Lady was. After her husband’s election as president in 1999, she swung into action and founded Child care Trust, a non-profit organization for underprivileged and disabled kids. She also joined the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation in 2003.
Her style is simple, but her level of dedication and hard work needs to be studied. She’s been the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance (twice) alongside Coordinating Minister of Economy, and now, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, nobody is touching the hem of our mama’s signature head tie.
Franca Afegbua
From making hair to making laws, Franca Afegbua is THAT babe. She became popular within the Etsako community in Edo state for winning an international hairstyling competition in 1977. She rode on that to contest for a Bendel North senatorial seat in 1983. By targeting female voters (and maybe even promising cheap braids), she became the first woman to ever be elected senator in Nigeria. Women supporting women, for real.
Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu
Next, we have the first Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria and Nigerian representative at Miss Universe and Miss Africa, 1964. Lynda Ikpeazu served as a member of the House of Representatives in 1999 and won the National assembly election in 2004 for her second term representing Onitsha North and South constituency — proof you can be beautiful and still lead.
Dame Virginia Ngozi Etiaba
Can we take a minute to appreciate this holy drip? Her Excellency found the sweet spot between the RCCG mama and British royalty. Although she was only governor of Anambra for three months after which the court nullified the impeachment of the previous Governor, Peter Obi. She set the record as the first and only female Governor of Nigeria in 2007.
Special mention: Margaret Ekpo
Margaret walked so that every other person on this list could run. Activism, feminism, jail time, she was an overall baddie. And she became the first woman ever to be elected to a political office in Nigeria after she won a seat at the Eastern Regional House of Assembly in 1961.
Wunmi* was an ad-hoc staff in Lagos at the just concluded presidential and national assembly election. She spoke to Citizen about the experience and how expectations differed wildly from reality. She’s calling it quits with INEC, who expect her to turn up for the gubernatorial elections on March 18. She says the pay is peanuts and not worth being “treated like trash.”
Editorial Note: Navigating Nigeria is a platform for Nigerians to passionately discuss policies and politics with little interference to individual opinions. While our editorial standards emphasise the truth and we endeavour to fact-check claims and allegations, we do not bear any responsibility for allegations made about other people founded in half-truths.
What to expect in this episode:
Where INEC ad-hoc staff sleep
How much INEC pays (guess)
How INEC staff are exposed to compromise
Walk us through your experience
TL;DR – Have a backup plan for working with INEC because accommodation isn’t guaranteed.
I got a call from a relative who works in the local government (LG) that they need people who’ll work for INEC. He said they’d pay us ₦25k; I told him I was interested. He also asked me to inform any of my interested friends. I was like, “ok, cool money for one day’s work”.
I started calling my friends, and they all showed interest. They told us that INEC would contact us, but we didn’t receive any call. On the morning of February 24, a Friday, he sent me a document with all our names. The list had about a thousand and five hundred names on it. They arranged us in groups to different locations, which were our polling units.
He told us to head to the LG to verify our names and get any needed information. That was all he told me. At 3 p.m., I was at the LG. I’d told some friends to come so we didn’t miss out on any info. Because they were all coming from different places around Lagos, the plan was for them to all converge at my end after we got the relevant info since my place was close to the LG. I asked my relative about accommodation during the election, and he told us they’d provide somewhere to sleep if we worked very late and couldn’t go home. My friends would follow me to my house if the accommodation weren’t conducive.
Ok, good plan so far
However, they didn’t attend to us in time, and there was a curfew that day. I decided to run home and get food, bedspreads and mats for myself and my friends. We were seven. When I got back, there was a crowd of people. Nobody was saying anything, so we didn’t know what to do. We saw some people checking a list of names posted on the boards, but it didn’t click that we were supposed to do that to know who our Presiding Officers (PO) were. None of us knew what POs or Assistant Presiding Officers (APO) were. Eventually, using the numbers attached to our names, we located our POs.
(Editorial note: A presiding officer is an official in charge of a polling unit. In Nigeria, this responsibility usually falls on corp members trained by INEC.)
Progress, finally
TL;DR – LG offices of INEC can be places of fun and chaos in equal measure.
At 10 p.m., nobody said anything to us. The same thing happened at 11 p.m.
We knew we were on our own. Inside the LG was a DJ playing music with speakers and a microphone. Some women cooked food too. It was like a mini-party although the food wasn’t for us. The LG was congested, so we had to lay our mats on the pavement opposite the LG office.
Around 1 a.m., we heard again that they were calling names, so we all ran inside. Someone was trying to address the crowd. The man on the microphone asked us to locate our Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO). At the time, I had no idea what that meant.
It was a disorganised process with plenty of confusion. You had to ask questions to understand what to do, like locating the number of your Registration Area Centre (RAC), aka ward. I saw several buses outside the INEC office, which I’d discovered were to convey election materials to the polling units. Most of us were lucky to be in the same RAC, so we were still together till 5 a.m. We couldn’t sleep and couldn’t return to that pavement because it was empty outside, and we felt unsafe.
Meanwhile, not all of us in that compound were INEC ad-hoc staff. Some were party agents. By 5 a.m., they started calling RAC 1, where I belonged. It was also the closest ward to the LG. We assembled, along with our PO, inside the office. At this time, I realised election materials were within that building. I thought they were going to bring them from elsewhere.
The POs started picking their materials according to their materials. They gave them activated Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for data capture. They also provided a SIM card to log in with their details. The POs were corp members, and I assumed they got trained on how to go about the process. We, the ad-hoc staff, didn’t get any training.
Yikes
TL;DR- You learn quickly that you’re on your own during an election period. Be prepared for long periods without bathing or food while working for INEC.
Funnily, when I met my PO hours earlier, she asked me if I knew how to navigate proceedings, and I told her I didn’t. INEC had trained them, after all, and I wasn’t. If she wasn’t sure of what to do, how could I?
In any case, we marked an attendance sheet and a log sheet to tick the materials we received in a bag. It was my first time seeing ballot papers before elections. We didn’t tamper with it. All we did was count and record the materials we received.
It was around 6:30 a.m now.
People were looking for how to brush and freshen up. There was nowhere to bathe. The toilets at the LG needed fixing. We started to go our separate ways. My friends and I agreed to reach out should we experience any issues on the field. I was in polling unit 2 (PU), so we were among the first set of people to leave. We found our driver, who wasn’t even sure where the PU was. He only had an address and had to locate its whereabouts.
For example, the PU would be somewhere, but there’d be no number, so you have to scan for yourself to know exactly where the PU should be. I called my SPO to give us a landmark to describe where we should be, but even he didn’t know. He told us to ask around.
O.Y.O
We located the PU, but we had a new problem. There were no chairs or tables on the ground for us to set up. I called my SPO again, but his line was understandably busy because he got calls from other people. When I finally got through to him, he told me to be patient and that the chairs and tables were coming.
We got to the PUs some minutes past eight. As of 9:00 a.m., nothing was on the ground. There was a man around who had some experience with elections that guided us on what to do. So we started posting our banners and posters and setting up the voting cubicle. Some minutes to ten, people had begun gathering around. I helped some of them using a list I had to direct them to their PUs. We were supposed to paste this list publicly, as they later told us. There were arguments that the list should have been placed days before and not on election day.
The register has two copies, in coloured and in black and white. After I confirmed with my SPO, we placed the black and white posters on the wall with the help of the voters. All these things delayed the voting process. When it was close to eleven, I had to call again for tables and chairs because we couldn’t commence without those. The SPO raised his voice at me and told me that the chairs and tables he said were on their way were meant to be provided by party agents.
Wahala
TL;DR- Nothing prepares you for what you’ll meet on the field. A calm head is required to navigate the tough life of an election official.
This was new and unexpected information. I had to inform the impatient voters that party agents had to deliver the needed tables and chairs. Arguments ensued. I was scared because I’d never done this before. I kept begging them to calm down. We got a table, but it was too high. Eventually, we found a workaround by asking food vendors to provide us with their benches and tables. This was how we were able to begin the accreditation process.
Phew!
We still had other issues. We forgot the covers of the ballot boxes in the early morning rush to get to our PUs. The voters refused to vote until we had the covers in place. They volunteered to drive one of us down, along with a security agent, to pick up the covers at the LG office. That was how we settled that. When they returned, I climbed on a pedestal to address the crowd that voting was about to commence. I was an APO 2. I’d read the voting guidelines for INEC officials, which I relayed to them, explaining voting procedures.
We noticed that not all parties had representation on the ballot papers for the senatorial and house of representative elections. My guess was they didn’t have candidates for those positions. I explained this to the crowd.
Eventually, at about 11:30 a.m., the voting process started. As you can imagine, there was a long queue. For the first fifty or so voters, the process was seamless. However, after some time, the BVAS started having network issues.
Another headache
TL;DR – For polling officials, elections don’t end on the afternoon of election day. There’s a whole new world of stress ahead after counting ballots. Brace yourself.
We improvised by connecting with a hotspot. The issue occurred at intervals, and we had to take turns using our phones to connect to the BVAS. Some people couldn’t find their names on the list we placed but swore that they were in the right PUs because they’d voted there for years. We checked their PVCs, and for most of them, they’d changed their PUs to somewhere else. This frustrated many voters and affected turnout because many had gone around and couldn’t vote.
By 1:00 p.m., about 100 people had voted, and the queue had significantly reduced. But we were exhausted. We hadn’t brushed, bathed, or had any water or food. By this time, we had established a cordial relationship with the voters and party agents who provided us with water. Someone ordered gala for the crowd, and people scampered around to get their share. A kind stranger brought three for myself and my colleagues, although I couldn’t eat mine because I was busy.
Pele
The number of registered voters at my PU was 750, but only 106 voted. No one came around till 2 p.m. The party agents were still present, but the security agents had gone. The agents kept asking us for their food, which they claimed they had paid for. But we didn’t have any. We were starving too.
At 2:30 p.m., the security agents returned. This was when we decided to do the sitting and counting of votes. In my PU, the APC won by a wide margin. The party agents signed the result sheets, and I also took pictures. I called my SPO, who sent a driver to our location to pick us up. The bus went around a couple of other PUs to pick up some of us who had finished our duties. Together, we headed for the collation centre.
We learned there that we had to cancel out unused ballot papers. We had a lot of sheets to cancel because only 106 people voted across the presidential, senatorial and house of representatives elections. Party agents were making videos of us cancelling, which was annoying. My colleagues and I cancelled over 2,000 sheets while our PO tried submitting our results sheet to the collation officer.
That’s a lot of work
TL;DR: Did you know Wunmi didn’t get 25k as promised? Wait till you read what she earned after the work she put in.
At my collation centre, the collation officer refused to collect the BVAS until we had uploaded the results. He directed us to the RAC technicians (RACTECH), who handled any technical issues with uploading. We also had to tie the used ballot papers with a rope and keep them sealed. It was close to 7 p.m., and we were all drained by this time—still no food.
Our PO hadn’t successfully submitted her results sheet, and the whole place had become chaotic. Party agents were on our necks as though the delay with uploading was our fault. We had to beg them to stop harassing us.
At 8:00 p.m., we were still at the collation centre. We contacted our SPO to ask him if our driver would still be coming around to transport us back to the LG office. He said he didn’t know and referred us to the electoral officer (EO). It looked like we were on our own. I was angry and frustrated. I’m an ulcer patient, and the only thing I’d had all day was water. My uncle had to drive down with some mama put rice, but I couldn’t eat it.
Hugs
Before we completed the collation, it was midnight on election day. It was only then we received ₦4,500. We discovered then that our pay wasn’t even ₦25,000 but ₦17,500.
Ahh
They told us they’d send the balance of ₦13,000 to our bank accounts. Till today we’ve not received the balance. We don’t know the year that will happen. Some people told us they’d pay after a month or at a time of INEC’s convenience. Some guys got angry and wanted to cause chaos with all the added information regarding the sealing and tying of ballot papers. They refused to because they didn’t inform them about it earlier.
There was tension everywhere. Some people walked to the LG office from the collation centre. Eventually, all my friends got attended to.
We left the collation centre around 1:30 a.m. It rained that night, and we couldn’t sleep on the pavement like before because the ground was wet. We were lucky that we had someone who volunteered to drive us. He was a Surulere resident, so he dropped us all at my home before he departed for his end.
What’s your takeaway from this experience?
Almost every one of us broke down from this experience. They admitted one of us to the hospital. I’m getting admitted today. INEC hasn’t paid our balance, and they expect us to return for the governorship election. I’ve decided that I’m not going. I can’t go ahead because of the peanuts they want to pay to get treated like trash.
This is because INEC would need to take their time to manually configure over 176,000 Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for each polling unit across the country. And that, my friends, ‘takes a lot of work’.
How we imagine INEC officials after reconfiguring 176,000 BVAS machines
But now that these elections have been postponed, what do you need to know?
Campaigns continue until March 16
All party supporters and patriotic citizens are free to continue ‘moving the ministry’ of their preferred candidate — up until midnight of Thursday, March 16, 2023. This is in alignment with the 2022 Electoral Act.
If you get caught after the said date, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
INEC is ready to release election materials for access in court
Recently, two contenders during the presidential elections (Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar) filed ex parte applications. The purpose was to seek permission to access election materials from INEC.
However, INEC was against this, as they insisted that it would disrupt the elections. Rather, in a show of good faith, they assured them that the election materials would still be made available to them if needed in court. But only until after the elections.
Political parties can also apply to get certified True copies of backend data on the BVAS. This is just in case there are any trust issues.
Now you know the updates! Citizen promises to give you the full gist of the 2023 gubernatorial elections come March 18! Stay sharp and stay glued to our election results screen! Or join us on WhatsApp.
Unfortunately, an ambulance didn’t come until 45 minutes later. First responders tried to take the victims to nearby hospitals, but two people were already dead.
Investigations by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) have revealed that the accident was caused by the driver trying to beat the train’s traffic signal. Unfortunately, this recklessness has cost people’s lives and put many others at risk.
We’ve seen this before
Sadly, this isn’t the first time an accident of this nature has occurred, especially around the Ikeja axis.
2020
Just after the COVID-19 lockdown, an accident involving a moving train, a bus and a Toyota SUV happened near the Nigerian Army Shopping Arena in Oshodi. In the SUV was a trader and his son, who parked beside the tracks, waiting for the shopping arena to be open for business.
Unknown to him, meters away from their parking spot, a train collided with a bus and dragged it along the tracks. Unfortunately, before the man could move his car to a safe distance, the train hit it and carried the bus and SUV along the tracks before coming to a complete stop.
The trader lost his life, and his son was seriously injured in the accident.
2019
On January 10, 2019, at the Ashade railway crossing around Agege-Ikeja, Lagos, a train skidded off its tracks and killed one person, leaving many others injured.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) responded almost immediately to re-rail the train and repair the track, but if regular maintenance had been carried out in the first place, an innocent man wouldn’t have lost his life.
2018
In March 2018, also around Ikeja, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Nneka Odili, on her way back from the secretariat, lost her life in a train accident.
The young lady was walking on the railroad tracks with her headphones plugged in and couldn’t hear the horns from the approaching train. She didn’t survive the injuries sustained from the accident.
According to Statista, hundreds of train accidents happen in Nigeria, and the leading causes are locomotive failure, derailment or detachment.
However, it’s important to note that the personal responsibility of citizens should be taken into account. It’s always better to believe that a train is just around the corner whenever you step on a track. Some people think they can be faster than a train, but your village people can be around the corner, so why risk it?
It’s time for the government to think seriously about how they can reduce the occurrence of rail accidents, and here are some steps that can be implemented.
Routine maintenance of rail tracks
One of the leading causes of train accidents is derailment. There will be fewer accidents if the government invests properly in developing the rail transport sector and maintaining it.
Use of barricades
Fences and barricades should be used to cover railway tracks. This way, the chances of people selling, walking or trying to drive through indiscriminately would be reduced.
Use of signals
Our train tracks usually have flagmen that indicate with their whistle when a train is on its way. But this practice is old-fashioned and has clearly proved to be ineffective. So, reflective lights and signals should be put at every crossing, and reflective tapes should also be placed on cabins to indicate to every passerby that a train is on its way.
Hopefully, the government will take action this time to permanently stop these accidents that could have been easily preventable.
On March 1, Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, announced Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s president-elect, and none of his co-contestants was happy.
The losers, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar
Just two days after the announcement, the duo filed two separate ex-parte applications to the Court of Appeal. Its purpose was to inspect the materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the elections.
That way, if there was any manipulation or mago mago done to the election result figures, they can easily catch INEC red-handed.
If it does, then it’s best to learn how this works. Let’s dive right in:
How are post-election tribunals set up?
Firstly, we must understand that election courts are not the same as regular courts. This is handled by specialised courts called election petition tribunal courts, which are usually run by the Court of Appeal.
The 2022 Electoral Act gives us the basic guidelines and principles of setting up a post-election tribunal under various sections:
Section 130 (1) states that “No election and return at an election under this Act shall be questioned in any manner other than by a petition complaining of an undue election or undue return (in this Act referred to as an “election petition”) presented to the competent tribunal or court in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act, and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.”
Section 130 (3) (a) states that the Court of Appeal should set up the tribunal not later than 30 days before the election, with the register for tribunals opened seven days before the election.
Who can file for a post-election tribunal?
Sadly, only political candidates that participated in the election can file for a post-election tribunal. Patriotic citizens are not on the list.
What is the election tribunal timeframe?
An election petition must be presented and filed within 21 days of the declaration of the result.
Once a candidate fails to file his/her petition within 21 days, he/she loses the right of action. The petition would be declared null and void.
Also, the election petition must be heard and judgement delivered within 180 days from the date of the filing of the petition.
Is there more than one post-election tribunal?
Presidential candidates can decide to go to the Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the judgement from the Court of Appeal.
However, if you’re a national or state assembly candidate, the Court of Appeal is your final bus stop. Once they give a ruling, it cannot be petitioned in a higher court.
With that being said, you can be sure to watch out for Citizen updates on the 2023 post-election drama. Stay tuned!
For eight wild years, Governor Yahaya Bello ruled over Kogi State in ways that were either crazy, unpopular or downright distasteful. From owing salaries to denying the presence of COVID-19, here’s what his report card looks like.
Year One
He spent ₦260 million on security votes
In 2016, barely a week after he was elected governor, he approved a total of ₦260 million for himself as security votes. His reason was that Kogi state had way too many criminals, and he needed to protect himself.
But ₦148 million of that money was for renovating his office
Of all that money he approved for security votes, ₦148 million was used to renovate the state house he lives in. It’s safe to say he wasn’t just securing himself but also securing the bag.
Then he decided to “clean up” the state’s civil service
He used to be a civil servant. So when he was appointed (not elected) to office, he decided to clean up the civil service after seeing how messy it was.
Year Two
But owed salaries for months in the process
As part of his plan to clean up the civil service even better, he thought the best way to do this was to stop the payment of salaries until everyone in the state’s civil service could successfully pass a screening system to ensure they deserved their job.
The result: He ended up owing salaries for as long as 39 months, and a lot of people were plunged into poverty.
But he fished out thousands of ghost workers
To his credit, the scheme was effective in fishing out some ghost workers, but at what cost?
He reduced the incidence of kidnappings in Kogi state
Before the wave of insecurity that swept Nigeria over the past few years, Kogi State was already an unsafe place. People would regularly get kidnapped on highways and travel was unsafe. When he assumed office, he helped bolster the security forces within the state and the kidnappings were reduced.
Result: The kidnappings did reduce, but there was a surge again in 2021 when banditry became an issue in Nigeria.
Year Three
He upgraded primary healthcare facilities in the state
In 2018, he established 21 model primary healthcare centres in the state, to help increase access to healthcare. In fact, in his first four years, he constructed, upgraded, or renovated 400 primary healthcare centres within the state.
The result: Kogi State emerged as the best-performing state in the World Bank’s ANRiN project, a priority healthcare project that’s focused on increasing access to nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children.
Year Four
He refused to pay civil servant salaries even after receiving bailout funds
In October 2019, the federal government released salary bailout funds to the states that had salary backlogs and Kogi State was one of them. But the problem is, these funds weren’t paid out. This didn’t come to light until a year later when the EFCC found ₦20 billion of salary bailout funds sitting in a fixed deposit account.
Then he denied the money and threaten to sue the EFCC
After the EFCC found the money and tied it back to the Kogi State government, they returned it to the CBN. Governor Yahaya Bello then said the whole scandal was cooked up to damage his reputation and he had nothing to do with the money. He even threatened to sue the EFCC but that never happened.
Year Five
He denied the existence of COVID-19
At first, he claimed that the virus was artificial and even refused to wear a face mask during public appearances. He also proclaimed that Kogi State was COVID-free, and did his best to suppress testing by the NCDC on so many occasions.
The Result: Five cases of COVID-19 were reported and he simply dismissed them as being manufactured by the NCDC.
He rejected ₦1.1 billion COVID-19 in support funds from the World Bank
In October 2020, he said that he rejected a sum of ₦1.1 billion in COVID-19 support funds from the World Bank because in his words, “COVID-19 is nothing but glorified malaria.” It’s almost as if the millions of deaths across the world meant nothing to him.
Year Six
He spent ₦90 million on COVID-tracking software
After denying the existence of COVID in his state and rejecting money from the World Bank, he went on to spend ₦90 million on COVID risk-assessment software. It turned out that the software only cost ₦300,000 to build.
Then he became a fake professor
In April 2021, Governor Yahaya Bello claimed that he received an honorary professorship in “Humanitarian Services, Human Resource Management, and Peace Building” from St. Thomas-a-Becket University in London. He flaunted the professorship in his typical influencer style. It later turned out that the course does not exist, and that the school he claimed to have received it from doesn’t offer any UK-recognized degrees. It wasn’t even registered as a university, to begin with.
Professor (Honoris Causa) in Humanitarian services, Human Resources Management, Peace Building by the prestigious ST Thomas-A-Becket University, London and fellow of Wesley Synod Canterbury, KENT, United Kingdom. GYB, Your efforts in Kogi are noticed. pic.twitter.com/CySILBp0yA
— Kingsley Femi Fanwo (KFF) (@KingsleyFanwo) April 25, 2021
Year Seven
He “asked” the president to declare a state of emergency in Kogi State
In anticipation of the floods that were already predicted to happen, he asked the president to declare his state a “National Disaster Zone”. What this was supposed to achieve, we’re not quite sure.
But he also did some things to help flood victims within the state
In September 2022, the floods hit all the states that were along the River Niger. Kogi State was one of the worst affected states with around 10,000 people rendered homeless by the floods. However, Governor Yahaya Bello created ten Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for those rendered homeless, and also donated relief items to them.
Year Eight
He destroyed roads leading to his opponent’s hometown
In a bid to disenfranchise voters and prevent INEC from reaching the place, Governor Yahaya Bello destroyed some of the major roads leading to the hometown of PDP’s senatorial candidate, Natasha Akpoti.
The result: People fixed these roads so they could vote, but his party won the election by 369 votes.
Other Highlights
Best in road construction
When he’s not destroying roads for political, he sure knows how to construct them. In his first five years in office, he constructed 500km of roads within Kogi State
Overall grade: C-
Governor Yahaya Bello’s eight-year reign has been very self-contradictory. He built primary health centres but still denied COVID. He approved questionable sums of money but went to great lengths to fight corruption in the civil service. It’s giving the same level of unseriousness as a secondary school student who’s not really sure why they’re in school.
Two of every three voters during Nigeria’s February 25, 2023, presidential election didn’t want Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) to be their president. Yet, the Lagos Jagaban (boss) managed to get 36.6% (8.7 million) of the total votes (24.9 million), to become Nigeria’s president-elect.
It is the smallest win margin of any Nigerian President since 1999. It is also the election with the lowest voter turnout — 29% of 93.4 million registered voters — since Nigeria gained independence.
Violence was so unbelievably widespread that the House of Representatives majority leader, Ado Doguwa (of the APC), was arrested for allegedly shooting at least three people to death. In North-Central Kogi state, the sitting state governor, Yahaya Bello (of the APC), destroyed five roads leading to the district of an opponent, Natasha Akpoti, claiming he did so to avoid terror attacks.
But it does not end there.
INEC: What we ordered vs what we got
The presidential race saw three other contenders polling at least 1 million votes each: Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) got 1.4 million votes, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) got 6.1 million votes, and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) got 6.9 million votes.
Atiku was contesting for the sixth time and was no stranger to the process. However, Obi (a third-force candidate who left the PDP months before the election) and Kwankwaso (who lost a presidential primary in 1993) were on the ballot for the first time.
All four leading candidates and millions of Nigerians were banking on the promise of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise a free and fair election.
The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was supposed to eliminate voter fraud and assist INEC with collating accurate data directly from polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). But days after the election result had been announced, the IReV portal was yet to host most of the results.
Peter Obi’s running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, lamented the “widespread technological problems and manipulation of results” at a press conference in Abuja.
While one could write Datti off as a pained loser, many Nigerians have taken to the IReV portal to collate the numbers as they are uploaded. What is on the portal and what was announced by INEC are at variance.
Finally went through all the 17 Wards in Obio/Akpor LGA and the final figure I got for LP is 17 times the value INEC announced while that of APC is 68,617 less than the value announced by INEC.
"In God we trust, all others must bring data" ~ W. Edwards Deming.
Despite getting a ₦305 billion budgetary allocation, INEC did not conduct a convincingly free and fair election.
INEC cannot blame its failure on the want of time. The BVAS, for instance, has been tested in Anambra (2021), Abuja (2022), and Osun state (2022).
Just days before the presidential election, INEC tested its processes again on February 4 across 436 polling units, assuring Nigerians it was ready. Why, then, did BVAS and IReV malfunction mar the electoral process on February 25, 2023?
The INEC Chair, Mahmood Yakubu, has questions to answer. And the answers might be in court.
Legal steps
Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar have held press conferences addressing their supporters, opponents, and INEC, ending with a promise to take legal action.
Obi is notorious for winning post-election litigation, while Abubakar has never won any election petition, although he has a string of successes in other cases, including defeating former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
However, one factor stands against both men: no Nigerian President has been sacked from office after INEC declared the winner. And the president-elect seems to be counting on this, as he starts his tour to celebrate with loyalists.
The Supreme Court’s recent string of cases, which make it seem like it sways in the direction of the ruling party, is also a source of concern. The current Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma (of APC), sits in office after coming fourth at the polls due to a Supreme court decision which sacked his opponent Emeka Ihedioha (of PDP).
In a way that Nigerians have not had to do before, there is great attention and expectation that the Supreme court will either validate Tinubu’s victory or reach a conclusion that may lead to recounting an outright announcement of another candidate, or a redo of the voting process.
The polls might have closed, but the presidential election process is still open.
With the gubernatorial election days away on March 11, eyes must fall back on INEC. This is an opportunity for INEC to initiate a redemption. Nigerians (locally and abroad) and the international community are all paying attention.
INEC has this lifeline left to encourage voter participation. Will it take it?
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has now made available a partial list of legislators-elect based on the February 25 National Assembly (NASS) election.
The NASS comprises two legislative houses. The upper house is the Senate, with 109 seats: three for each of the 36 states of the federation and one for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The lower house is the House of Representatives (HOR). There are 360 available seats in the HOR, varied unevenly across constituencies. Lagos and Kano have the most seats, with 24, while the FCT has the least; two seats.
By May 29, when a new administration takes office, they too will reconvene to constitute Nigeria’s tenth national assembly. Here are a few things to look out for:
Fewer ex-governors than usual
[The Nigerian Senate / Arise]
The Nigerian senate is perceived as a retirement home for term-limited governors. Since 1999, many past governors have found the senate a lucrative cash cow to fund their baby boy lifestyles. However, that trend is about to change.
Something's shifting in Nigeria's political landscape! Only 2 out of 9 sitting governors including some of the G-5 Governors vying for Senate were elected during the last federal election, a significant departure from past elections.#EnoughIsEnough2023pic.twitter.com/3Xiy4PeIDL
Several outgoing governors lost their bids to transfer to the senate, including Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Samuel Ortom of Benue. Only two out of nine outgoing governors successfully transferred to the senate.
Upsets in the national assembly
There were a few shocks from the national assembly elections. The All Progressives Congress (APC) chair, Abdullahi Adamu, who vacated his seat (Nasarawa West) upon assuming the position of party chair, lost his senate district to Aliyu Wadada of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
[APC chair, Abdullahi Adamu / Vanguard]
The senate spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru, a former attorney general of Osun representing Osun Central at the senate, lost to the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Fadeyi Olubiyi.
In the HOR, the deputy chief whip, APC’s Nkeiruka Onyejeocha from Abia, lost her re-election bid as she bowed out to Amobi Ogah of the Labour Party (LP).
Fewer women seats
While INEC is yet to release a full list of legislators who won seats in the national assembly, we can infer, based on the ones seen so far, that women’s representation in Nigerian politics still has a long way to go. Only three women made it to Nigeria’s senate.
It’s disheartening as 378 women contested for office at the national assembly. We can only hope results from the March 11 elections boost better returns for women running for elective offices at the state level.
Oshiomole and other familiar faces make their senatorial debut
Former labour union chair, Edo governor and APC chair, Adams Oshiomole, has completed the quadruple as he clinched a seat at the senate. Oshiomole defeated the PDP incumbent, Francis Alimekhena, by some distance to earn a seat in the red chamber.
Oshiomole is not the only new entrant. Ned Nwoko of Delta North district, who has had his fair share of controversy, defeated the APC incumbent, Peter Nwaoboshi, who finished third. Jimoh Ibrahim, another controversial businessman representing the Ondo South district, is another new entrant to the senate running under the APC’s banner.
Labour Party makes significant inroads into the national assembly
[Labour Party Supporters / Bloomberg]
Off the back of the Obidient movement, the LP can count itself as one of the big winners at the just concluded general elections. While the top position didn’t materialise, yet, the party can boast 40 out of 469 seats in the national assembly. These include six in the senate and 34 in the HOR. This is an impressive feat, given that the LP won zero seats in the 2019 elections. The tenth assembly is taking on a different structure now. Let’s see how it performs over the next four years.
The Nigerian Voter is a series that seeks to understand the motivations that drive the voting decisions of Nigerians — why they vote, how they pick their candidates, why some have never voted, and their wildest stories around elections.
Editorial Note: The Nigerian Voter is a platform for Nigerians to passionately discuss policies and politics with little interference to individual opinions. While our editorial standards emphasise the truth and we endeavour to fact-check claims and allegations, we do not bear any responsibility for allegations made about other people that are founded in half-truths.
The subject of today’s “The Nigerian Voter” is Victor, a travel consultant in his mid-twenties who is a resident of Lagos State. He told us about his shattered dreams for Obi as president, his reasons for preferring a second term with Babajide Sanwo-Olu as Lagos State governor, and his thoughts on the other Lagos gubernatorial candidates for the March 11 elections.
When was the first election that you participated in?
The 2023 election was the first election I participated in. This is because I never had an interest in politics until the EndSARS movement when people came out to protest in large numbers and were also killed. I always felt that nothing in the political system of Nigeria could change, but something very special happened during EndSARS — there was just this newfound belief that people had the power in their hands to make the country work. This belief birthed in me the desire to vote. I no longer wanted to sit on the fence and criticize the government. I registered for my Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) in 2021 and voted in 2023.
Who did you vote for during the 2023 presidential elections and why?
During the presidential elections, I voted for Peter Obi of the Labour Party. I don’t vote based on parties but rather based on individuals. Peter Obi was my best choice because I saw his background as an economist and I felt he could fix up our economy. I was so disappointed when he lost.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) at the federal level has failed us woefully, especially in my area of expertise.
For instance, in Jonathan’s time, it is possible for you to see the Naira to Dollar exchange rate between ₦180-₦200. But now, with a ₦740 to a dollar exchange rate, a round-trip ticket from Nigeria to London would cost you nothing less than ₦3.3 million through Virgin Airways. This was a place that people used to go to for ₦110,000 back in the day. This has really discouraged people from travelling.
Now that Tinubu is president-elect, have you accepted the current administration?
Well for me, no. I’ve not accepted that man as my president, but at the same time, I don’t want to get my hopes high. He may not be Buhari but he still had a crucial role to play towards his administration.
I’m just watching and waiting for what happens over the next couple of months regarding the post-election tribunals.
Have you ever taken an interest in Lagos State governance? What are your thoughts?
Yes, I have. I firstly believe that it is Babatunde Fashola that really made the positive changes in Lagos, not Tinubu. Then Akinwunmi Ambode did his best, then Sanwo-Olu came in.
I believe that the current governor has tried in his capacity. A lot of projects have been going on such as The Blue Rail Project, the invention of new road networks, and even safety too. If you go back to some years before now, there are areas in Lagos that you can’t even go to once it’s 7 p.m. due to thug harassment. But Sanwo-Olu has been able to take care of those boys and make the roads safe for travel.
For instance, there was a friend of mine that came to Lagos recently and arrived in Oshodi at midnight. I was so scared for her safety, but she got to her place unhurt. It was even the touts that were helping her and warning others that she shouldn’t get hurt. I was really amazed. This would have been a very risky move for her to make some years back.
He has also tried in education. I spoke with a friend who is a teacher, and she told me that the education system has improved greatly in the last four years. The curriculum now has been made to properly prepare students towards the needs of the outside world. With all these testimonies, I feel the activities and governance of Lagos State have been a success so far under Sanwo-Olu.
So is it fair to say that you’d vote Sanwo-Olu for re-election as Lagos State governor?
Yes, this is definitely what I’m doing. I’ve noticed that Sanwo-Olu always tries to make amends for his wrongs. I know some think he is doing this just for his re-election, but this is a trait I’ve always noticed in him. Some leaders (whom I’d rather not name) would prefer that the country burns than listen to what you have to say. But that’s not Sanwo-Olu.
For instance, look at this cash scarcity issue. He has made sure that all Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles have their fares cut to 50% and the same is true for vehicles under the National Road Union of Transport Workers (NURTW). That is the act of a leader that listens and cares for people.
(Editorial note: Sanwo-Olu did reduce the fares of all state-owned transportation services by 50% in February 2023. However, there is no news on a fare reduction from the NURTW.)
What would you then say about his lack of accountability towards the Lekki Toll Gate shootings?
One thing people don’t realise is that there is no established fact on who gave the order for the shooting. This October would make it three years since the tragedy happened, but we still don’t know for a fact. So how can you then accuse Sanwo-Olu directly for anything?
Also, I feel the administration of Lagos is purely run as a godfatherism thing. This is not to say that Sanwo-Olu is completely a puppet. But what if the order came from above and was completely out of his hands? That is something that would not be publicised. He tried to pay the medical bills for victims as well as set up a panel of inquiry. Is that the best he could do? Not quite, but I’d not hold that against him. I really don’t think that Sanwo-Olu is responsible for what happened, until we are aware of who gave the order.
(Editorial note: Sanwo-Olu did set up a trust fund of ₦200 million to compensate victims of the Lekki Toll Gate shootings. He also set up a panel of inquiry. However, it is not clear if the trust fund was set aside specifically for medical bills or not.)
What would you say about the other Lagos gubernatorial candidates?
I know of the Labour Party guy (Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour) and Jandor of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). For Gbadebo, I’d say that I never knew him until after the presidential election. I feel he is personally running off the wave of support for Peter Obi, which honestly is smart in a sense. I don’t blame him for it. However, this doesn’t mean that the man has elaborated fully on what he has to offer Lagosians.
For Jandor, I don’t know his portfolio. I only know that Fashola said that he was his cameraman when he was in power.
What are those problems that you’d like Sanwo-Olu if re-elected?
Well, now that we have a Tinubu presidency incoming, I want Sanwo-Olu to have a very firm grip on the agberos or touts. I don’t want Lagos to be violent from the activities of these people again just because Tinubu is president.
I’d also like for him to continue his work on infrastructure. He has been trying but there are many places in Lagos that still has bad or poorly maintained roads.
In the end, after all said and done, a Nigerian politician would always be a Nigerian politician. I’m not expecting him to be a Messiah, but he should try as much as possible to make life easy for the average Lagosian. That’s all I require.
Around 4 a.m. (WAT) on March 1, 2023, the winner of the 2023 presidential election was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was no other person than this guy:
Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
In a three-horse race, Tinubu secured Nigeria’s highest post with 8.7 million votes, defeating his once-friend-now-foe, Atiku Abubakar, who had 6.9 million votes, and the accidental frontrunner, Peter Obi with 6.1 million votes.
It is also worth mentioning that Tinubu won the vote with only 36% of Nigeria’s votes and won 12 states. His major contenders also won 12 states each, making it Nigeria’s most closely contested election since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999.
The important question right now is what is in Tinubu’s stew, and how does it affect you?
The advent of student loans and ‘quality’ education in Nigeria
This is a project that Tinubu is highly passionate about. He has been preaching about student loans since Buhari’s campaign for the presidency in 2015.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed tinubu 2015, we didn't get student loans and I'm now in my 7th year. But let us give him another chance, let's join hands with him to finish this country completely. Vote wisely, sorry Vote Peter Obi pic.twitter.com/sfj55rhZP8
In Tinubu’s manifesto, he said that his loan programme would have a maximum borrowing limit and flexible repayment provisions. Institutions will charge more cost-reflective tuition fees.
On quality education, there will be a curriculum that matches the needs of Nigeria’s private sector. Nigeria’s history will be reintroduced to classrooms in the country, while indigenous language courses will be compulsory for all children until the completion of secondary school.
Military recruitment of 50 million Nigerian youths
Nigeria has had an issue with insecurity for the last eight years. In 2015, the country’s insecurity challenges only happened in the Northeast. There were kidnaps and killings by the Boko Haram sect. Now, it has spread across all six regions of Nigeria.
What is Tinubu’s reply to this? Recruit 50 million youths!
At his 69th birthday colloquium in Kano in 2021, Tinubu highlighted the need to address Nigeria’s security challenges. This was when he made the now-viral claim of recruiting 50 million youth into the army.
He also said he will create anti-terrorist battalions with special forces. Their main objectives would be to tackle terrorists, kidnappers and bandits.
Our condolences to all Nigerian youths out there. You better start packing your bags just in case.
However, Tinubu plans to focus on accelerated and inclusive, double digit economic growth. This was said by Wale Edun. He is a Tinubu ally who could become Nigeria’s next finance minister once Tinubu is sworn into power.
According to Edun, “Tinubu said ‘you have to set a ceiling of at least 6% growth per annum because anything below that will not start denting poverty.”
Agricultural reform in Nigeria
With Tinubu’s love for cassava, garri and ewa, there is no doubt that he has the agricultural sector of Nigeria in mind.
When Tinubu won the presidential ticket of his party in June 2022, he said he “will create jobs for our youth in agriculture, from the Zamfara and Osun gold deposits to the vast agricultural lands across the country.”
In his campaign manifesto, Tinubu vowed “to help the farmer and his community in new and significant ways that usher in a true and complete rebirth of Nigerian agriculture.”
A litany of presidential gaffes
With hit gaffes such as PDAPC and Bulaba, we can be sure to have more of this in a Tinubu democracy. He even made another one recently by calling himself a governor instead of president during his acceptance speech as president-elect.
Now that you know what to expect in Tinubu’s Nigeria, is it so bad after all? Or is a Tinubu presidency still a threat to the lives of Nigerians?
The build-up to the 2023 elections has been a marathon for many Nigerians. On February 25, 2023, the national elections (Presidential and National Assembly) were held, and we finally know who our next president is.
However, it’s important to note that we aren’t at the finish line yet. On March 11, 2023, state elections (Governorship and State House of Assembly) will be held nationwide.
Gubernatorial elections will be held in 28 states, and 11 incumbent governors will be seeking a second term in office to continue their good work or reign of mediocrity.
Who are these governors?
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state
Sanwo-Olu, unlike his predecessor Akinwunmi Ambode, won the party ticket to contest for a second term. But, he has probably not had peace of mind since his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), lost Lagos state at the presidential polls.
Since then, he has taken out time to hawk the gospel of his achievements on social media. He mentioned the expansion of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system, the construction of hospitals around Lagos, and the development of the education sector with infrastructure, free education and affordable tuition rates for tertiary schools.
It’s also important to mention that he seriously warned containers to stop falling off bridges and advised people to roll up their windows to avoid getting robbed on the Eko bridge. He also banned motorcycles and ride-hailing companies like Gokada, leaving thousands with no source of income.
Bala Muhammed, Bauchi state
This PDP governor and former FCT Minister is expected to win his re-election bid with little to no hiccups.
On December 9, 2022, his campaign got a boost when the former governor of Bauchi state, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar SAN, publicly endorsed him during a state dinner.
Mai Mala Buni, Yobe state
Mala Buni, a former Chairman of a political party in 2006, the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) and a two-time National Secretary of the APC. In his first six months as governor, he constructed a Damaturu-Ultra Modern Market worth ₦2.8 billion and a 200-bed capacity hostel at the Dr Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery at the cost of ₦215.9 billion. He also invested heavily in the area of security and agriculture.
In December 2022, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly insulting him on social media, which is, unfortunately, becoming the norm for Nigerian politicians.
Seyi Makinde, Oyo state
Seyi Makinde is unfortunately recently remembered by many as being part of the Aso-ebi boys, the G-5 governors.
If he wins the forthcoming elections, he will be the second governor in Oyo state’s history, after Ajimobi Abiola, to get a second term in office. However, his chances are slim, given that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is facing infightings.
On March 6, 2023, the Labour Party (LP) adopted him as their governor, abandoning their governorship candidate, Tawfiq Akinwale. Given the recent upset the LP has caused in the political scene, it would be interesting to see how this plays out in Seyi Makinde’s favour.
Bello Malawalle, Zamfara state
You might remember Bello Malawalle as the governor who signed the death penalty bill into Law for bandits, cultists and kidnappers to end insecurity in the state.
The governor of the gateway state believes one term (good or bad) deserves another. Many traditional leaders like the Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo, and Oba Lawrence Adebajo, have supported him.
They’ve also thanked him for fixing some of their roads which makes you wonder who started this trend of thanking politicians for doing their jobs in the first place.
Ahmadu Finitri, Adamawa state
Former State House of Assembly speaker served as Adamawa’s acting governor (July – October 2014) following the impeachment of then-Governor Murtala Nyako.
He became the state governor again in 2019 under the PDP and is expected to emerge victorious in the gubernatorial elections.
Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa state
Abdullahi Sule is a businessman and engineer who co-founded Sadiq Petroleum Nigeria Limited in Lagos. He later became the CEO of African Petroleum (AP) in 2001. The state monarchs and civil servants have rallied behind him for his re-election bid to ensure his victory.
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Kwara state
AbdulRahman first contested for the Kwara state governorship seat in 2003 but was defeated by the state’s golden boy, Bukola Saraki. The same thing repeated itself in 2007. The story, however, finally changed in 2019 when AbdulRahman contested under the All Progressives Congress.
The current Senate president, Dr Ahmed Lawan, recently lauded AbdulRahman’s administration, saying he surpassed the achievements of his predecessors in two years. We’ll see soon if Kwara state indigenes agree with this statement.
Inuwa Yahaya, Gombe state
This state governor is one of the very rare politicians believed to have fulfilled his campaign promises. For instance, as promised, the state government increased the education budget allocation by over 60% and revamped over 150 schools.
Many people believe Inuwa Yahaya is a governor most deserving of a second term in office.
Babagana Zulum, Borno state
This professor and former Ramat polytechnic Rector became Borno state governor in 2019 under the APC. His administration has tried to battle and solve the insurgency problem facing the state for years. He has also been the target of many assassination attempts by Boko Haram.
Babagana is one of the governors who have the backing of his people. In August 2022, he was awarded the Best Governor of the Year in the Leadership Excellence Awards.
Unfortunately, Nigeria witnessed the worst voter turnout in its history at 27.1 per cent in the recently concluded national elections. Hopefully, this changes on March 11, 2023, for the gubernatorial elections because the last thing we want to do is give certain people a free pass to steal our mandate.
Millions of Nigerians, us included, believed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) when it said it would adhere strictly to the Electoral Act, deploy the use of the BVAS and upload results in real-time to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
[INEC chair Mahmood Yakubu / Punch]
What played out was the opposite. Across the country, results were not uploaded in real time as promised. Nine days after the general elections, results are still being uploaded to IReV, calling INEC’s competence and integrity to question as it has already declared a winner.
INEC’s failings have led to an atmosphere of distrust and may have the effect of creating voter apathy. There’ve even been reports of people destroying their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC).
Destroying your PVC is the wrong approach. In a few hundred words, we hope to convince you why you should still use your PVC to vote on March 11.
You are in the majority
There’s a common expression, “majority carries the vote.” It means that in a democracy, the people’s choice of a leader should reflect whoever gathers the most votes. While the president-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been declared the winner, the victory is disputed in court following protests by the opposition parties over election irregularities.
[President-elect, Bola Tinubu]
Opposition votes combined outnumber the winner by nearly 6 million. The importance of this should be evident. It sends a message that despite irregularities, the people can still have their say with their ballots. Abstaining from elections because they don’t go as planned is the equivalent of cutting your nose to spite your face. Remember, the matter is still in court. Whether you turn up or not, elections will proceed.
Higher voter turnout reduces the chances of rigging
You’ve heard this one before, and it’s true. The more people turn out, the less likely the possibility of rigging elections. The saying that there’s strength in numbers carries more weight than you realise.
The 2019 elections had a 35% voter turnout. This meant 65% of eligible voters didn’t vote. When INEC planned the election, it did so with the assumption that everyone would come out to vote. Millions of unused ballot papers are susceptible to manipulation when the majority don’t come out to vote.
[Ballot papers / Guardian Nigeria]
If, on the other hand, voter turnout is in the high eighties or nineties, there’ll be fewer available ballots to swing the election in favour of any one candidate.
Higher voter turnout is also a thug’s nightmare. A determined voter populace keeping watch at their polling unit will be tough to intimidate because how many people you fit beat? Besides, citizens are better informed and prepared based on how things played out in the February 25 election. So don’t be afraid. Go out and vote.
Dear Dog Owners, on Election day, come out with your dogs to your various polling Units and be on guard. 🦮🦮
Let's see how they will snatch ballot box this time around.
State elections are more important than you realise
All eyes were on the February 25 elections, and understandably too. It’s the top job, and you want whoever gets that seat to merit it because leading Nigeria today is not a job for the fainthearted.
However, it’s a mistake to think it all starts and ends with who gets to be president. Arguably, governorship elections are just as important. Your governor can wake up one morning and ban okadas rendering thousands of people jobless. Governors can increase tuition fees of state universities on a whim. They can decide that local government elections won’t hold.
They are also, as we’ve seen now, very capable of using the powers of their office to sway elections in “interesting”ways. As citizens, it’s in your best interest to vote for candidates not based on ethnic considerations but also based on their character and competence. If a candidate has a history of owing salaries or pensions, for example, a vote on March 11 will make clear that such impunities will no longer be tolerated. Coming out to vote on March 11 will send a message that citizens won’t be dissuaded.
We’re all learning lessons from the conduct of our elections, but the critical point is that regardless of everything, you should come out to vote on March 11. It’s hard, but it’s necessary. You won’t get this chance again for another four years.
In the wee hours of March 1, 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, was declared the winner of the presidential elections. Since the news broke, many people have started looking for ways to japa with only ₦10k, and others are preparing themselves for a life in the BAT army, eating garri,ewa and agbado for the rest of their lives.
For many Gen-Zs, myself included, much of what we know about Tinubu are stories passed down to us by our parents. Although we can hardly remember his time as governor, during his campaigns, we’ve heard him claim to be responsible for “building” Lagos into what it is right now. So, maybe it’s time for us to look at who our president-elect is.
There’s a lot of drama around where exactly Tinubu’s from. Some say he’s from Lagos, while others claim to know his family house in Iragbiji, Osun state. And I can’t say much about his age because while he identifies as a 70-year-old, his daughter, the Iyaloja of Lagos, is 60, so the math isn’t really math-ing there.
But because I like to mind the business that pays me, let’s instead look at his accomplishments while in government and his plans for us.
Bola Tinubu’s the 12th governor of Lagos state from 1999-2007. As governor, he introduced a free healthcare policy for children under 18 and adults above 65. Also, the Under Blindness Prevention program was launched, where millions of Lagosians were given free eye surgeries and glasses, saving them from sight problems.
The Lagos state government also set up clinics to combat polio by immunising children.
His government also paid close attention to the education sector. A free education programme was launched, which also fully sponsored WAEC AND NECO registration for all students in Lagos public schools. He also initiated the Lagos state spelling bee competition, now an annual competition where the winner gets cash prizes and a chance to be the One-Day Governor.
And as many of us might have heard repeatedly, in Tinubu’s government, Lagos was able to significantly increase its Internally Generated Revenue. Tinubu plans to recreate what he did in Lagos across the entire country, hopefully minus the thugs, traffic and unreasonable high living costs.
In October 2022, he released an 80-page manifesto, and some of his plans are:
Police officers will no longer act as bodyguards for the elites.
He will continue in Buhari’s footsteps to discourage importation and support local production.
A commodity board to control the price of staple crops in the interest of farmers will be established.
A Creative Industry Advisory Team will be created to provide a more conducive environment for content creators, although, given the APC’S history, this might end in another social media regulation.
35 per cent of government positions will be allocated to women, but I can’t help but wonder if the idea of a 50-50 government between both genders scares them.
To tackle our high inflation rate, they will study it a bit longer.
Looking at some of Tinubu’s accomplishments and plans, it might serve as a reassurance that maybe the next four years won’t be so bad, but it still isn’t easy to get past the allegations, controversies and questions that have surrounded him for years.
For one, there’s the ever-present claim that he’s heavily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. Some even say he receives commissions from Lagos’ taxes and the toll gate fare. There was also a frenzy on social media about how he falsified his academic records from Chicago State University. Another issue many people have with him is how he plays the “Godfather” role, particularly in Lagos state.
Many Nigerians still hold on to the hope that something might still happen to change the outcome of the recently concluded elections. But if nothing does and Bola Tinubu gets successfully sworn into office on May 29, 2023, not many people will hold their breath to see what his administration brings. And maybe that would be best. After all, as we’ve seen repeatedly with Nigeria, it’s the hope that kills.
Since the beginning of the year, every day for Nigerians has not been the day the lord made. We have been fuelled purely by chaos.
One of the problems started on October 26, 2022, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin “Meffy” Emefiele, announced plans to redesign the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 notes. A month later, the new banknotes were unveiled. Although some people predicted that it might be difficult for Nigerians to adjust to this change, no one could have foreseen the level of discomfort Meffy’s Naira makeover has caused.
What has happened?
Naira scarcity
Nigerians have been dealing with Naira scarcity while racing against CBN deadlines of January 31, 2023, subsequently extended to February 10, 2023.
Despite this, Nigerians have had to take the labours of Hercules to get their hands on the new notes.
Due to the tensions the Naira has created, some states, Kogi, Zamfara, and Kaduna, sued the Federal government at the Supreme Court over the current scarcity of banknotes.
After many complaints, on February 16, 2023, President Bubu tried to channel his inner Superman by approving the use of old ₦200 notes till April 10, 2023. But this has proven to be hardly helpful as statistics show that the old ₦200 notes make up only 9.19 per cent of the currency volume in the last seven years.
Meffy’s reason for the Naira redesign was to fight corruption and inflation, but so far, it seems like Nigerians have had to pay a high price for this. Let’s look at some things the Naira scarcity has cost Nigerians.
Their businesses
Since the Naira scarcity problem started, many traders have had to bear losses, especially those who sell perishable goods because they haven’t had enough customers.
Photo credits: Twitter/The Voice Of Port Harcourt/@TheVoiceOfPHC
Some traders don’t have bank accounts, and others who do and accept transfers have faced network challenges. This situation has forced many of them to slash the prices of their goods, though they might be incurring losses. Some herders complained that a big cow that’d usually be sold for around ₦400k now goes for ₦270k.
Their lives
On February 17, 2023, a 32-year-old woman, who was nine months pregnant, died in a specialist hospital in Kano because her husband didn’t have the new naira notes to pay the hospital on time.
The woman was in labour by the time they arrived at the hospital, and her husband tried to pay the requested ₦8,528 with the old notes but it was rejected. The hospital had no POS machine, and they asked the man to transfer the money instead, which he did. But the cashier had to wait to confirm payment. The medical personnel also refused to proceed with the treatment until the evidence of payment was brought.
The payment wasn’t confirmed until after three hours. The hospital requested an additional fee of ₦4000 for blood service, and the payment also had to be confirmed. This time, the man pleaded with them to proceed with the treatment, and they finally rushed her to the labour room around 1 a.m.. Unfortunately, his wife and child didn’t make it.
Their means of transportation
Many commuters have had to trek or face embarrassment from bus conductors who have refused to collect old notes. It’s 2023, and our train stations still only accept cash as a payment medium. It’s almost like if you can’t pull a miracle to get cash in hand, then the best thing for you would be to stay home or exercise your leg muscles and walk.
No one knows when or if the current wave of suffering in the country will end anytime soon. All we can do is hope that the new administration coming in after the upcoming elections will make our lives easier than it is currently.
Next Saturday, the current governor of Lagos state will be seeking re-election. But how has he fared over the past four years? Here’s what his report card looks like.
Year One
He banned motorcycles in Lagos
In January 2020, less than a year into his tenure, Governor Sanwo-Olu decided that commercial motorcycles were no longer a part of the mega plan he had for Lagos and that they just had to go. It didn’t matter that the state had a terrible traffic situation, or that most people had no alternative.
The result: Lagosians had to trek… everywhere. Ride-hailing companies like Gokada, Max, and Opay laid off thousands of people, leaving them without a means of livelihood.
On March 11, 2020, Sanwo-Olu closed down the Eko Bridge in the early hours of the day without prior notice, causing a lot of people to be stuck in traffic in other areas.
The result: Commute became harder for people and the traffic got worse. The bridge was later reopened, but it was closed again after a fire gutted a section of it last year. It’s remained closed ever since.
The Lekki shootings happened under his watch
On the 3rd day of the ENDSARS protest, the 20th of October, Sanwo-Olu announced a curfew that would start at 4 p.m. This was ignoring the fact that it was a weekday and many people were outside. People kicked back against it, and the curfew was moved to 8 p.m. By 7 p.m., Sanwo-Olu called in the army and they arrived at the toll gate.
The result: Dozens of people were massacred at the gates and Sanwo-Olu still denies any involvement in the incident.
Year Two
He told people to roll up their windows when they got robbed
In 2021, after the Eko bridge was finally reopened, insecurity had gone up in Lagos and people were getting robbed in traffic on the bridge. What did he say? “Roll up your windows and stay safe.”
Year Three
He “increased” the salaries of civil servants in Lagos
In October 2022, Sanwo-Olu announced that he was going to increase the salary of civil servants in Lagos by the end of the month.
Result: 2022 is gone, and 2023 is here, but the pay raise is yet to be implemented. Why that is the case, it’s currently unclear.
He asked containers to stop falling off the Ojuelegba bridge
Who knew that all we needed to do was to just ask nicely and containers would stop falling?
Containers falling off bridges have been an issue for so long in Lagos. Since 2015, at least 20 people have been killed in accidents involving containers in Lagos State. Instead of erecting a simple barrier on these bridges to prevent huge trucks from using them at all, he simply said he’s not going to tolerate containers falling off bridges anymore. We’re sure the containers won’t try it again.
He bought 62 fire trucks for the Lagos state fire service
This is commendable considering how often fire outbreaks happen in markets and different areas of Lagos. Sanwo-Olu inaugurated 200 fire trucks in October 2022 to be used by the fire service authorities in the state for quick response to fire outbreaks.
Year Four
He commissioned Lagos’s first light rail
Earlier this year, Sanwo-Olu commissioned the first phase of the Lagos Blue Line with President Muhammadu Buhari. It’s a light rail system that had been planned as far back as 1983 before it was scrapped by the same person, Muhammadu Buhari. The line runs from Okokomaiko to Marina, and we were told to expect two more lines after this one.
This is expected to ease up traffic within Lagos over time. But a few days ago, fire razed a section of the blue line and the fire service was reported to be super late to the incident.
Overall Grade: E
Why? Despite the pockets of work he did here and there, he oversaw one of the worst cases of human rights abuse this country has seen in the past few years.
On March 11, Nigerians in various states across the country would be heading out to the polls to vote for who they want to be the next governor of their states. However, everyone seems to be focused on the elections of a particular state — Lagos.
An aerial view of Victoria Island, Lagos [Encyclopedia Britannica]
But what makes the city such a ‘hot cake’ and a talking point for many Nigerians? Who are the contestants for the state’s governorship race? What requirements do these people need to meet to be eligible for election as governor?
Let’s dig in here:
What makes Lagos so valuable?
The answer is straightforward — the city generates a lot of money which politicians can embezzleuse to take it to the next height.
Lagos is also Nigeria’s financial hub, with all major banks headquartered in the City. It is home to the Nigerian Stock Exchange [NSE] and accounts for over 80% of the country’s foreign trade flows.
It is also known to be Africa’s largest metropolitan city, with a population of 15.4 million people of various skill sets contributing to the economy. As a result, it is seen as a profitable consumer market for multinational companies. This includes companies like MTN, Shoprite, Starlink, etc.
Lagos is Africa’s largest metropolitan city [Premium Times]
Lagos also has a very generous pension plan for ex-governors. Even though the Lagos State House of Assembly called out and revised the pension plan in 2021, ex-governors are entitled to 2 cars that can be changed every four years, household staff, and 100% of the basic annual salaries of an incumbent governor and deputy, amongst others.
If you ever become Lagos State governor, you’re made for life.
Who is in the race for Lagos State governor?
We have 16 candidates vying for the position, but three out of the 16 candidates are currently gaining traction. They are:
Babajide Sanwo-Olu (APC)
The incumbent governor is seeking re-election for a second term in office alongside his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat.
Even though he has had achievements such as a free health policy for children and establishments of hospitals across the grassroots, his tenure has been largely marred by the event of the 2020 Lekki Toll Gate Shootings and his lack of accountability for the tragedy.
This has reduced public trust in his administration.
A member of a political party and sponsored by the same party
Educated up to at least School Certificate level or equivalent.
Now you know everything about the Lagos State elections! If you’re a Lagosian and a registered voter, come out on March 11 to vote for your favourite candidate in the gubernatorial polls!
Citizen also promises to give you real-time updates on the Lagos state election next Saturday. Join us on WhatsApp to not miss out.
The presidential and national assembly elections are now over and the public mood isn’t “giving” due to the election being marred by intimidation, harassment, suppression, and vote buying.
We’re already hearing rumours that some of you might japa because what INEC promised was different from what it delivered.
Virtually every close friends have Japa finish.
It’s well, make we watch how the election go be then we go know which way.
While we’ll be sad to see you go, we must remind you that taking up citizenship in another country has pros and cons. Here, we look at dual citizenship and what it could mean for you.
What is dual citizenship?
Dual citizenship refers to the state of being a citizen of two countries simultaneously in line with the laws of those two countries. So, suppose your japa country of choice is somewhere in Europe (no names so you don’t get any ideas). You could concurrently be a citizen of both countries if you meet their requirements.
Does Nigeria allow dual citizenship?
Yes. Nigeria is one of 64 countries that allow dual citizenship, so hurray for your japa plans. But the condition for holding dual citizenship is that you must have acquired it by birth. Section 28 of the Nigerian Constitution says that only those who are Nigerian citizens by birth can afford to hold dual citizenship. Otherwise, you must forfeit your Nigerian citizenship to get another one.
We already wrote about the types of citizenship in Nigeria and how to acquire them. There’s a good chance that you’re a Nigerian citizen if you’re reading this, but if you aren’t sure, read up on it here.
What are the pros of dual citizenship?
Security
Do you know how they say two heads are better than one? Well, having dual citizenship and, in essence, two passports is better than having just one. There’s the security of knowing that if a fire is burning in one country you’re a citizen of, you can always japa to your backup country.
Property rights
Many countries allow dual citizens to hold property rights along with the benefits that come with them. Who no want better thing?
Exposure
New culture, new friends, new food and new experiences. What’s not to like about having dual citizenship?
Work permits
People that have had to apply for work visas know how complicated the process can be. The right to work in another country without restrictions is a benefit that comes to citizens. Imagine having those rights in two countries of your choosing: more money and double blessings.
What are the cons of dual citizenship?
Double taxes
Benjamin Franklin, the guy on the $100 bill, famously said, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” My dear, you must pay taxes in those two countries if you decide to hold dual citizenship — everything na double double, including blessings and responsibilities.
Complications with running for public office
Anyone with a primary citizenship that isn’t Nigerian has to let go of it before they can run for public office. Basically, if you plan to acquire your Nigerian citizenship by naturalisation or registration, you automatically lose your claim to dual citizenship. However, if you are a citizen of Nigeria by birth and you acquire a citizenship of another country, you’re still eligible to run for office.
The procedure can be stressful
Just because you plan to acquire dual citizenship doesn’t mean it’ll be a straightforward process. In some instances, the country you want to apply to for a second citizenship might have restrictions.
For example, citizens of all countries can apply for Turkish citizenship by investment. However, the process involves opening a bank account in the country and/or buying real property there. If you’re from Cuba, Syria, Armenia, North Korea and Nigeria, you’ll find out that the process can be “highly problematic.”
There you have it. Now you know what dual citizenship is and what to expect if you acquire it.
As fans of the president-elect are jubilating, many Nigerians on the side of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi are not taking the defeat too well. Neither are the PDP supporters of Atiku Abubakar.
Some have even said there is enough evidence for the Labour Party to take to court, given suspicions of massive rigging.
This is our true president and we won't take no for an answer until he emerge that throne
This was due to Rotimi’s unjust removal from the ballot paper by INEC after he had won the PDP primaries in December 2006.
According to INEC, he was removed due to an indictment or accusation of corruption by the federal government. The Supreme Court later deemed it as invalid.
Amaechi became governor without campaigning.
The many court cases of Peter Obi
Even the Labour Party’s presidential candidate has had his share of ‘work experience’ regarding post-election court cases.
Obi didn’t take his L peacefully as he defended his right to Anambra’s highest seat in the election petition tribunal.
He later won the case in March 2006 after almost three years.
He was impeached in November of the same year, but the court overturned his impeachment, and he returned to office in February 2007.
Obi was again removed after the 2007 Anambra State gubernatorial election, but the judiciary intervened by ruling that he should be allowed to complete a full four-year term.
The 2023 elections would not be the first to have accusations of electoral fraud. This happened in the April 2007 Ondo State elections between Olusegun Agagu and Olusegun Mimiko.
In April 2007, Agagu was declared the winner of the Ondo State elections by INEC. Mimiko then submitted a petition to the Ondo State State tribunal in what would be a year-long case.
Mimiko later won in August 2008 after it was revealed that Agagu won the election through invalid votes.
Adams Oshiomhole vs Oseirheimen Osunbor
The Ondo State governorship elections weren’t the only election being contested in April 2007. The Edo State governorship election also entered the state’s election tribunal.
This was between Adams Oshiomhole (defendant) and Oserheimen Osunbor (winner).
The case was filed on May 14, 2007, and was won by Oshiomhole in March 2008. The election won by Osunbor was annulled, as the votes in his favour were found to be fraudulent and ill-obtained.
Buhari Vs Obasanjo
Unlike the other four, this court case did not end in victory for the defendant.
When Muhammadu Buhari challenged the victory of Olusegun Obasanjo as the winner of the 2003 presidential elections, the petition sadly got dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Buhari complained of massive rigging, election irregularities and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) mismanagement of votes.
What happens next?
As we await further post-election news, what would be the outcome?
Will the Labour Party take a step back and admit defeat? Will they go to the Supreme Court and challenge Tinubu’s incoming presidency?
Citizen promises to give you the updates once we have them.
Everyone dreams of retiring early with money that scares poverty for good. Nigerian politicians have discovered that the key to achieving this dream is being a member of the Senate.
What’s the Senate?
Nigeria’s National Assembly consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate, also called the Red Chamber, is modelled after the federal Congress of the United States. For equal representation, it’s composed of 109 senators, with the 36 states represented by three senators each.
The Senate is the highest law-making institution in the country, with the authority to impeach the president, vice president, and other executive officials.
For many Nigerian politicians, the Senate seems to be where most of them hope to end their careers, and we’ve seen this repeatedly happen, especially with former governors.
The current 9th Assembly consists of 16 former governors representing their state. They are:
Danjuma Goje
He was not only the Minister of State, Power and Steel from 1999-2002 but also served as the Governor of Gombe state from 2003 – 2007 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He now represents Gombe Central in the Senate and was re-elected to represent the region in the 2023 national elections held on February 25, but this time, under the All Progressives Congress Party (APC).
Ibrahim Gaidam
Ibrahim Gaidam is a three-term governor of Yobe state. He was formerly the deputy governor till he took office in 2009 when the then-Yobe state governor, Mamman Bello Ali, died of Leukemia.
Gaidam stayed in office till 2019, after which he joined the Senate to represent the Yobe East district.
Kashim Shettima
Many people now know Shettima as APC’s vice-presidential candidate for the recently conducted 2023 presidential elections. He was a former two-term governor of Borno state, from 2011 to 2019, before representing Borno Central in the Senate. He is now the Vice-President of Nigeria in waiting.
Aliyu Wammako
He served as the governor of Sokoto state in 2007 and currently represents Sokoto North district in the 9th Assembly (2019-2023).
Adamu Aliero
He was the former governor of Kebbi state from 1999 to 2007, after which he became a senator representing Kebbi Central.
He was also re-elected in the elections held on February 25, 2023, defeating the incumbent governor of Kebbi state, Atiku Bagudu.
Kabiru Gaya
Kabiru Gaya was the governor of Kano state from January 1992 to November 1993. He was elected to the Senate to represent Kano South in 2007. He has since remained in office for the past sixteen years.
Ibrahim Shekarau
This former Minister of Education (2014-2015) was previously Kano’s governor from 2003 to 2011. He represents Kano Central in the Senate and won his re-election in the recently concluded elections.
Theodore Orji Kalu
Theodore Orji was governor of Abia state from 2007 to 2015. He currently represents Abia Central in the Senate.
Orji Uzor Kalu
This Nigerian politician also doubles as a businessman. He’s the Chairman of SLOK Holdings, the Daily Sun and New Telegraph newspapers.
He was Abia’s state governor from 1999-2007 and represented Abia North in the Senate. He was also successful in his re-election in the election held on February 25, 2023.
Sam Egwu
Sam Egwu was the governor of Ebonyi state from 1999-2007. He became a member of the Senate in 2015, representing Ebonyi North. However, he lost his third term bid as a senator in the last election to APC’s Onyekachi Nwaebonyi.
Chimaroake Nnamani
Chimaroake’s a medical doctor who served as Enugu’s governor from 1999 to 2007.
He first joined the Senate to represent Enugu East in 2007. He lost the seat in the 2011 elections under controversial circumstances. He ran again for the same seat in 2015 but was again unsuccessful. However, his luck finally changed in 2019 when he beat the incumbent Senator, Gilbert Nnaji.
Rochas Okorocha
Rochas currently represents the people of Imo West in the Senate, but before now, he was their state governor from 2011 to 2019.
Ibikunle Amosun
Amosun’s a two-term governor of Ogun state (2011-2019).
In 2019, he was accused of illegally importing about 4 million rounds of ammunition and many firearms without obtaining the necessary approvals. Despite calls for his arrest and probe, nothing was done.
Instead, he’s now a member of the Senate representing Ogun Central. Nigeria’s sometimes a joke that writes itself.
Seriake Dickson
Seriake Dickson’s a lawyer who, unlike many of his counterparts, was a member of the House of Representatives (2007 -2012) before becoming governor.
He was Bayelsa’s governor from 2012-2020 before joining the Senate to represent Bayelsa West.
Abdullahi Adamu
He was the governor of Nasarawa state from 1999 to 2007 and currently represents the people of Nasarawa West in the Senate.
Tanko Al-Makura
This politician and businessman was Nasarawa’s governor from 2011-2019. After this, he was elected into the Senate to represent Nasarawa South.
This trend of ex-governors becoming legislators has repeated throughout our history from as far back as 1999. Let’s break this down.
Former governors in the 8th National Assembly (2015-2019)
Enyinnaya Abaribe: Deputy governor of Abia state from 1999-2003. He joined the Senate in 2019 to represent Abia South.
Theodore Orji: joined the Senate in 2015 and represents Abia Central.
Godswill Akpabio: joined the Senate in 2015 and represents Akwa Ibom North-West district.
Akume George: Benue state governor from 1999-2007, joined the Senate in 2007 to represent the people of Benue North-West.
David Mark: Niger state governor from 1989-1990, joined the Senate in 1999 to represent Benue South.
Sam Egwu: joined the Senate in 2015 to represent Ebonyi North.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso: Kano state governor from 1999 to 2003 and 2011-2015. He became a senator in 2015 to represent Kano Central.
Bukola Saraki: Kwara state governor from 2003-2011. He became a senator in 2011 for Kwara Central.
Jonah Jang: Plateau state governor from 2007-2015. He joined the Senate in 2015 to represent Plateau North
Abdullahi Adamu
Aliyu Wammako
Sani Yerima: Zamfara state governor from 1999-2007. He joined the Senate in 2007 to represent Zamfara West.
Former governors in the 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)
Abdullahi Adamu
Danjuma Goje
Sani Yerima
Bukola Saraki
Former governors in the 6th National Assembly (2007-2011)
George Akume
Sani Yerima
Abdullahi Adamu
Danjuma Goje
Godswill Akpabio
Theodore Orji
Aliyu Wammako
Sam Egwu
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
Former governors in the 5th National Assembly (2003-2007)
David Mark
Felix Ibru: Delta state governor from 1982-1983. He joined the Senate in 2003 to represent Delta Central district.
Tunde Ogbeha: Akwa Ibom governor from 1987-1988. He joined the Senate in 2003 to represent Kogi West.
Iyiola Omisore: Deputy governor of Osun state from 1999-2003. After his time as deputy governor, he joined the Senate in 2003 to represent Osun East.
Former governors in the 4th National Assembly (1999-2003)
Ike Nwachukwu: Imo state governor from 1984-1985. He joined the Senate in 1999 to represent Abia North.
Melford Okilo: the first governor of Rivers state from 1979-1983. He joined the Senate in 1999 to represent Bayelsa.
David Mark
Maina Maaji Lawan: Borno state governor from 1992-1993. He joined the Senate in 1999 to represent Born North.
Ali Modu Sheriff: Borno state governor from 2003-2011. He joined the Senate in 1999 to represent Borno Central.
It’s not surprising that in certain areas, Nigeria might be considered backward. Some legislators have been in power since the 90s with the same old ideologies. It’s almost like the Senate has become a vacation home with guests who refuse to leave for new people and minds to take over.
We hope this changes eventually, but looking at what has happened recently in the elections, it might be difficult for this to happen anytime soon.
The journey to Nigeria’s presidency has been long, starting with the presidential primaries in May 2022.
On March 1, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Bola Tinubu (BAT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of a tumultuous electioneering process marred by pockets of violence across the country.
While many young Nigerians are still absorbing the outcome of this news, it might be helpful to understand what the coming days will look like for Nigerians and the president-elect.
The transition committee
On February 14, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, unveiled the presidential transition committee. This followed an executive order signed on February 7 to facilitate and manage the presidential transition.
This committee is responsible for facilitating the handover process. They also provide security briefings and set up personnel for the president-elect and his transition team.
INEC will issue a certificate of return today, March 1, to the APC flag bearers BAT and his running mate, Kashim Shettima. INEC chair Mahmood Yakubu declared earlier that the duo “satisfied the requirements of the law and are returned elected.”
Swearing in on May 29
May 29 used to be Nigeria’s Democracy (and swearing-in) Day because it was when Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 after years of military rule. In 2018, President Buhari changed Democracy Day to June 12 in honour of MKO Abiola, who was widely regarded as the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election winner.
Still, on May 29, 2023, a new president will be sworn in after being administered the oath of office by the chief justice of the federation.
This is officially the beginning of the new president’s tenure.
[Buhari taking the oath of office in 2015 / Nigerian Observer]
Change of guard
The president is heavily protected by a set of guards across military and intelligence services attached to him. However, as the outgoing president leaves, the incoming gets fresh protection.
In 2015, it took a month after Buhari’s swearing-in to have a new set of bodyguards. According to a report by Vanguard, 150 bodyguards were rendered redundant as they were all posted out of Aso Villa following Buhari’s emergence.
Setting up of ministerial cabinet
Buhari earned the title “Baba go slow” for his slowness in naming his cabinet. He was inaugurated into office on May 29, 2015, but only had his ministerial cabinet ready by September. We hope the new president doesn’t take a leaf from Buhari’s playbook and, instead, hits the ground running.
Now you know what happens after a winner is declared.
Thank you for following the Zikoko Citizen live coverage of the presidential election. Tune in to our web page and WhatsApp for coverage of the gubernatorial elections on March 11, and tips on how to hold the new President’s agbada through his tenure in office.
Three days after Nigerians voted in the presidential elections, it’s still too close to call and no one knows who the next president will be yet. However, some patterns have emerged, and the 2023 elections seem to be taking a few pages from the events of the 1979 presidential election.
Let’s start with the candidates
In the months leading up to the 2023 general elections, four candidates became favourites to win the presidential election — Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressive Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
The four front-runners represent the east, southwest and north.
This may sound familiar to Nigerians who witnessed the 1979 presidential election, where the exact thing happened.
In 1979, four front-runners for the election emerged. Two candidates (Shehu Shagari and Aminu Kano) were from the north, and the other two candidates (Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe) were from the southwest and the east.
The Yoruba candidate took an early lead in both elections
After the 1979 polls closed, early results from 11 states put Chief Obafemi Awolowo of the Unity Party of Nigeria in a comfortable lead with 4.4m votes. At this stage of collation, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe of the Nigerian People’s Party was in second place with 2.3m votes, and Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria was in third place with 2.2m votes.
Obafemi Awolowo eventually lost his lead after the official announcement of results from the remaining eight states. In the end, Shehu Shagari amassed 5,688,857 votes, which was enough to beat Awolowo’s 4,916,550 votes.
As it stands in this election cycle, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC is in an early lead, having amassed over 4m votes.
But with results from more than 10 states yet to be officially announced, one wonders if history might repeat itself. Will Peter Obi or Atiku Abubakar make a comeback?
The 1979 election was packed with drama
It’s safe to say every general election has come with some drama. For the 1979 general election, the winner had to be decided by a court ruling.
Shehu Shagari won the popular vote, but it didn’t solidify his win as the new president. Because according to the Nigerian constitution, a candidate needs to fulfil two conditions to win:
Have the highest number of votes.
Have at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of the states in the federation.
At the time, Nigeria had 19 states, and 2/3 equalled 12.66. When Shehu Shagari got 25% in 12 states, a bone of contention emerged. How best should the two-thirds requirement be interpreted? Leave it at 12 states or round up to 13 states.
Obafemi Awolowo went for the latter. He argued that Shehu Shagari needed to win 25% votes in 13 states to clinch the seat. And since that didn’t happen, it wouldn’t be right to declare him as the new president without conducting a runoff election. Ultimately, the parties went to court, which ruled in favour of Shehu Shagari.
In 2023, Tinubu is already projected to win 25% in 2/3 states while the popular votes are still up for grabs.
Will Tinubu win both the popular votes and reach 25% in 2/3 states? Or will another candidate challenge him and win in court?
Considering that Peter Obi, especially, has a history of winning in court, the second option would be an interesting event.
Up until this week, many Nigerians never knew the name Mahmood Yakubu. In the last few days, though, he has taken centre stage. Yakubu has been cast as a villain for what may go down yet as Nigeria’s most controversial election.
[INEC Chair, Mahmood Yakubu/Punch]
If anyone doesn’t know, Mahmood Yakubu is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairperson. The position of the INEC chair is sensitive, and it’s a requirement that whoever holds that office must be nonpartisan. Typically, and for reasons unclear, INEC chairs tend to be academics.
One then begins to wonder how he got there in the first place. Here’s how.
What the Constitution says about appointing the INEC chair
The Nigerian Constitution guides how an INEC chair is appointed. We start with section 153, which provides the basis for such an appointment. Fourteen federal commissions and councils are backed by law under this section, including, among others, the national judicial council, the council of state and INEC. Make a note of the last two.
Section 154 goes into detail on how the INEC chair is selected. Here’s what the Constitution says in subsection 3:
“In exercising his powers to appoint a person as chairman or member of the Independent National Electoral Commission, National Judicial Council, the Federal Judicial Service Commission or the National Population Commission, the President shall consult the council of state.”
Is that it?
Not quite. After the president picks their nominee following consultations with the council of state, the president’s nominee is subjected to the Senate for screening. Only after they pass the screening are they confirmed for the position. The screening process can be tough as it often requires bi-partisan support for nominees to scale through.
This is usually the case if the ruling parties and opposition have equal representation. You want to make sure whoever you’re picking has no political allegiances. Former INEC chair, Attahiru Jega, faced tough scrutiny before securing the position.
Remember, the president has the power to appoint the INEC chair, but only after consulting with the council of state — before the Senate confirms. So who makes up the council of state?
Council of state
The council of state is an organ of the government whose role is to act in an advisory capacity to the executive, that is, the presidency. It comprises the president, who is the chair, the vice president who is vice-chair, former presidents and heads of state, senate president, speaker of the house of representatives, minister of justice, attorney general of the federation and all state governors.
The whole house. But remember, the president is the chair of this council, so their say is final.
Should the president have such powers?
It’s clear now that being president of Nigeria is a big deal. This explains why 18 people are vying for a seat that can only take one person.
[Seat of the president. The Cable]
That said, there have been debates in the past on whether the president should hold the power to appoint the INEC chair. The chief argument against it is that INEC, by definition, should be independent. It is, therefore, unfair if the president sets the chair of this commission, especially when they can still contest. It’s like a football team getting to pick the referee that officiates their match.
Then again, a counter-argument was made in 2015 when Attahiru Jega, the INEC chair handpicked by President Goodluck Jonathan, oversaw the election that kicked Jonathan out of office.
Ultimately, it comes down to the president’s will and generosity in allowing the INEC chair to perform their duties without undue interference or pressure. As the Nigerian Constitution allows, the president reserves the right to appoint or replace the INEC chair as they see fit.
Three days after the 2023 presidential elections, Nigerians all over the world are holding their breath and clinging to the edge of their seats as they await the long overdue results.
Here’s all that has happened:
Contrary to what we thought, election results were uploaded manually
One of the measures put in place by the Independent Electoral Commission to ensure a smooth electoral process was the electronic transmission of results. But the spokesperson for INEC, Festus Okoye, released a report saying results from polling units would be electronically transmitted to IReV, but collations would be manual.
Disparities between figures Nigerians recorded at their PUs and INEC’s
A lot of heat has come upon INEC for releasing falsified results. A spokesperson for the Obi-Datti presidential campaign council claimed that the presidential result from Ekiti state had been uploaded on February 20, five days before the elections.
But we fact-checked this, and our checks revealed the screenshot, which was trending on social media, was in fact fake.
Petition for the INEC’s Chairperson visa to be revoked
In the spirit of holding leaders accountable for their actions, Nigerians are dragging Mahmood Yakubu by his metaphorical shirt, and asking the UK, USA and Canada to revoke his visa for rigging Nigeria’s presidential election in favour of APC. The petition currently has over 285,600 signatories.
Rumours of a runoff election to determine the president
For a candidate to be declared President, they must have 25% of votes in 2/3rd of all the states, including the FCT, and also the highest number of votes. From the election polls, we’ve seen the four contending parties show strength in their different regions.
This is inaccurate. For a candidate to be declared President, they must have 25% of votes in 2/3rd of states and the FCT. For this purpose, the FCT is treated as a state and the minimum expectation is 24.67 states or 24. In addition, they must win the popular votes. 🧵 https://t.co/AIY1JD8osJ
Businessman and investor Thaddeus Attah, contesting under Labour Party, beat renowned singer and actor Bankole Wellington who contested under the People’s Democratic Party. Against speculations that he only won because of his party, some people have claimed he was absent from the TL because he was busy campaigning street-to-street.
On February 27, 2023, the EU released an official statement saying that while the Nigeria presidential elections had gone on as planned, the lack of transparency and operational failures challenged the citizen’s right to vote. So even though our electoral commission failed to address the numerous allegations of violence and vote buying, the EU acknowledges this was far from a free and fair election.
Lagos state alleged dinner party
An invitation card began circulating the media in the earlier hours of Tuesday, February 28. And the event was allegedly between the executive governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Igbo captains of industry, such as the Executive Chairman of Chisco group of companies, Chief Dr Chidi Anyaegbu and the Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema.
But the media aides of the Governor have since come on their platform to tag the flyer as fake news.
Civic responsibility is not cosplay. When your brand claims to be politically conscious, you should show up when it counts.
As millions of Nigerians gathered at the polls to decide the country’s fate during the 2023 presidential elections, some singers who’ve built their identities around fixing Nigeria were nowhere to be found. It’s one thing to sing about the struggles Nigerians go through. It’s another thing to actually do something about it, especially when that thing is voting — or encouraging others to.
Following the events of 2020 — the year we protested for our lives while some people in government hoarded Indomeeen meant for COVID-19 palliatives — I wasn’t surprised when, as early as 6 a.m., most Nigerians were already at their polling units ready to exercise their civic duty and protect their mandate. One of those early birds was Nollywood actress, Omoni Oboli.
Omoni Oboli at her polling unit on the morning of the elections
Not too long after Omoni’s post on social media, Nollywood started showing up en masse with posts from actors like Jemima Osunde, Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha, Kate Henshaw, Rita Dominic, Toyin Abraham, Stan Nze, Adesua Etomi and Adunni Ade. These actors didn’t just show us they were voting, they also provided situation reports on their various polling units, encouraging their over 40 million combined followers to go out and vote.
But while Chioma Chukwuka was getting attacked by thugs trying to snatch ballot boxes and Omoni Oboli camped at her polling unit till 6 a.m. the next day, our self-proclaimed African Giant, Burna Boy, was nowhere to be found. And our best export since crude oil, Wizkid? Well, Machalla was in Ghana, attending the funeral of a music producer’s mum, which might be good enough reason to not be in the country, but to not talk about the election?
Wizkid, King Promise, Omar Sterling and members of R2bees spotted at the funeral of Killbeats’ mother, Agnes Addison happening today at Tema, Site15 pic.twitter.com/b0WktH2PLR
It’s easy to dismiss Burna Boy and Wizkid’s absence from the polls; they’re just two votes out of 93.4 million registered voters. But then there’s the question of their reach. These two men have a larger social audience than most Nollywood stars who showed up at the elections and talked about it combined.
Leading up to the 2023 elections, some of these actors and musicians like Falz, Davido, Ladipoe, M.I and Zlatan spoke about PVC collection, urging their fans to equip themselves with the only permissible weapon for the elections. Meanwhile, Burna and Wizkid refused to disrupt their perfectly curated social feeds with election information.
Other singers like Tiwa Savage, Don Jazzy and Rema were also quiet (Tiwa put up a post after voting had officially wrapped up wishing Nigeria a peaceful election). These musicians aren’t known to be silent on social issues. After all, Burna called out Coachella, and Wizkid also attacked Reekado Banks for attempting to promote music during #EndSars, all on Blue Ivy’s internet. So why keep quiet now?
Singling out Wizkid and Burna Boy is intentional, and their selection runs deeper than surface-level social media reach. Wizkid’s first international claim to fame and one of his biggest hits to date isn’t Essence; it’s Ojuelegba. The 2014 semi-autobiographical hit narrated Wizkid’s journey from shopping demos to becoming one of the biggest stars of his generation.
Ojuelegba wasn’t just Wizkid’s story; the song presented a certain level of hope that if this random guy could hustle his way out, then maybe it’s possible for the rest of us too.
Similarly, Burna Boy’s transition from “underrated” to international superstardom came in 2018 with a little song called Ye. Sampling Fela’s 1977 classic, Sorrow Tears and Blood, Ye positioned Burna as the voice of the people, a narrative he’s continued to push internationally from African Giant to Love, Damini.
These two, more Burna than Wizkid, have each benefited from posturing as messengers of the Nigerian experience — good and bad. So you can’t blame the people for expecting them to show up somehow when the going gets really tough.
In a very on-brand move, Wizkid has remained silent in the face of the warranted social media drag. Meanwhile, Burna has decided to be defensive and condescending — something we’ve gotten accustomed to.
Although I don’t have hard evidence to prove that celebrities showing up at the polls can influence voter turnout in Nigeria, it’s not far-fetched to imagine many people would’ve pulled up to the Ojuelegba polling unit in Lagos if they thought there was a slight chance their fave would be there.
That being said, going out to vote is a civic duty, and the decision shouldn’t be forced. But we should look at the bigger picture.
Music has held Nigerians together generation after generation, reflecting our collective struggles and hopes for the future. It was music Fela used to hold the military accountable during his time, and it was music that fueled the #EndSARS protests.
As Afrobeats dominates the “world” it’s been trying to reach for years, our faves must remember where the sound came from. There’ll be no “Afrobeats to the world” if Nigeria goes to shit. And when you claim to be about civic responsibility, you should show up when it counts.
Check here for live updates on the ongoing presidential and legislative elections.
This is Zikoko Citizen’s Game of Votes weekly dispatch that helps you dig into all the good, bad, and extremely bizarre stuff happening in Nigeria and why they’re important to you.
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The Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, is one of the Nigerian politicians that should get an honorary degree in Theatre Arts. A word many would ascribe to him is “drama,” and in the days leading up to the 2023 elections, this has proved very true.
Wike was one of the presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but lost to Atiku Abubakar in the primaries. However, Wike hasn’t taken this defeat lying down. Instead, he has sabotaged PDP’s presidential campaign in every way he can.
Asides from leading a rebellion against the PDP leadership with his aso-ebi boys, the G-5 governors consisting of Seyi Makinde (Oyo State), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State), Samuel Ortom (Benue State) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State); he also cancelled Atiku’s presidential rally in Rivers state under the guise of them lacking the capacity to fill the stadium.
But, despite his mean-spirited attacks on his party, he hasn’t openly declared support for another candidate. However, some third-party informants say he has thrown his weight behind Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
After months of trying to let peace reign, Atiku has finally had enough. In a statement on February 22, 2023, he called out the Rivers state governor, describing him as “a con man and a chicken hiding under the costume of a lion”. He also accused him of planning to use violence in the state to hand Tinubu the win. Looking back at everything Wike has put the PDP through in this election period, you can’t help but wonder if he’s really all bark and no bite. If he’s truly displeased with the party, why not defect to a different one? In January, he said he’d be announcing his preferred presidential candidate, but it’s one day before the presidential elections, and we’ve not heard a beep from him.
Is he shying away from supporting his candidate with his full chest, or is he playing chess while we’re stuck on checker’s?
What else happened this week?
The chef who’s a serial robber gets caught
Like the song goes, “Crazy things are happening”. Nigerians have been trying to survive the government since we crossed into this year, and now it looks like we have to be extra watchful with other Nigerians.
On February 23, 3023, the Lagos State Police Command arrested and detained a cook, Wilfred Amoussou, under the suspicion of drugging and robbing his employers. Allegedly, this isn’t Wilfred’s first rodeo as he has done this to many victims over the years, particularly in the Ikoyi, Parkview and Banana Island axis.
2023 needs a restart button because, so far, it’s not giving.
The Supreme court adjourned the case again against the Naira redesign to March 3. Do you still think they can help us in our fight against Meffy?
Ehen one more thing…
It’s one day to the presidential and national assembly elections. You can check the results as they are being released live, here or join our WhatsApp community to get updates, fact-checks, and talk to other voters.
Results from the 2023 national elections (Presidential and House of Assembly) held on February 25, 2023, have finally started coming.
While we’re still holding our breath for who Nigeria’s next president will be, for many constituencies around the country, winners of the House of Representatives seats are being announced. And the one clear thing is that an upset is happening around the country.
What happened in Eti-Osa?
For the Eti-Osa constituency, Thaddeus Attah of the Labour Party, considered the underdog in the race for a seat in the House of Representatives, was declared the winner with 24,075 votes defeating Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had 18,666 votes.
He also defeated Babajide Obanikoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the son of former minister of state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro with 16, 901 votes.
What do we know about Thaddeus Attah?
Maybe this is one of those times where if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. Thaddeus joined the race for the House of Representative seats under the Labour party three months before the elections.
Unlike his co-aspirants, he is not a known repeat contender.
But before now, he was a businessman and an investor.
Photo credits: Twitter/ JT Attah Thaddeus/@_JtAttah
Not much exists about him on the internet, although there are claims he is known at the grassroots level.
The person that won the elections was organising free health outreaches, calling people to clean Eti-osa, campaigning Street to street. He was the most accessible candidate, its politics not Christmas hamper. https://t.co/UdqUKgFgep
Agents from PDP and APC have rejected the results with raised doubts over their authenticity.
They claimed that voters were disenfranchised and some results weren’t uploaded on the BVAS.
Nigerians on Twitter seem pleased with the result, some are especially happy that the victory came from a candidate belonging to the “third-force party”. Some also believe that even in other situations, Thaddeus would still defeat Banky W.
For many people, this result gives them hope that their votes count and mean something.
Buhari may have promised us free and fair elections, but what we’ve witnessed since the polls started yesterday has been anything but fair. On top of intimidation and violence, while most are done voting, some have not voted at all. Zikoko Citizen got some updates from a polling unit in Rivers state where an election didn’t happen.
The turnout at the unit was interesting, with some voters getting there early enough
This happened at a polling unit in Ward 14, Obio/Akpor LGA. People were eager to vote, with some first-time voters getting there as early as 8:30 a.m. to cast their votes.
Everyone was there but the INEC officials. This happened in many other polling units nationwide, where people had to wait for the INEC officials to show up.
12pm no inec officials at my polling unit.
Polling unit is paragon1 Ekwulobia ward 1 Aguata Anambra State.
Two officials later came and said they had no clue there was a polling unit there at all
Two INEC officials eventually showed up and said they weren’t aware that there was even a polling unit . They said they’ll inform their office and ensure that the assigned agents get there.
Two hours passed, and there was still no sign of INEC or any voting materials at the polling unit. A concerned voter called INEC’s helpline to report the situation at the polling unit and was told they’ll receive the officials soon.
The materials finally came, but someone forgot to bring the result sheets
At 3:16 p.m., an INEC official finally showed up, curiously conveyed in a vehicle with PDP agents. But what made things even more suspicious was when the voters were told that all the materials were now available, except that they conveniently forgot to bring the result sheets. The official wanted to leave to get them, but they held him down.
Someone called INEC again; this time, they were hostile and dismissive to the caller. The officials on site wanted to start accreditation without the results sheets, but the people said, “No way”.
After being tired and frustrated the whole day, people left, and no vote was cast at the polling unit
As it turned out, there were other polling units where voting also didn’t happen
These polling units had voters, but they didn’t have the votes. There are many polling units where people have been disenfranchised across the country, and INEC needs to cancel whatever results come from these places and carry out a rerun.
APC and INEC do not provoke me!!! I flew from the USA to Nigeria to vote in Imo state. No election has taken place in my LGA Oru East yet funny results are being published. God will punish @inecnigeria if they declare a winner from this sham you call an election. Rubbish! pic.twitter.com/TMXtr6CrEm
Do you have a similar case in your polling unit? Talk to Zikoko Citizen by joining Citizen Situation Room on Whatsapp. You can also follow the election results live on our portal as INEC is collating them.
It’s the day after the 2023 presidential elections, and Nigerians are holding their breaths. While most are done voting, some are still voting.
Everyone is waiting to see who will be the next tenant at Aso Rock — and we are getting pretty anxious while doing so.
But we at Citizen are here to tell you today to calm down.
Here’s why:
Election results are not released immediately
Examples are the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections.
In 2015, the elections were held on 28 and 29 March, but the results were released on the 31. In 2019, the elections were held on February 23, and results were released three days after on the 26th. This is because the ballots take time to count and assess (usually between two to three days), and INEC tries to be as accurate as possible.
Results take time to collate
Nigeria has 176,846 polling units across 36 states and the FCT. As you have counted results in your PU, they will count in all PUs across the country. The results will move from individual PUs to local governments before they are transmitted to the states, from where they move to the national collation centre in Abuja, where they are all counted and the INEC chairman will declare the final votes.
Why can’t everyone just send their results to Abuja via email?
Voting ongoing
While voting might be over in your PU, there are several PUs across the country where polls are still open. This is due to factors like the late arrival of electoral officers, not enough electoral officers, and lack of voting infrastructure. While many ballots are on their way to central collation centres, some people are still voting.
BVAS/iREV wahala
Nigeria introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine to make the voting process easier, tackle over-voting, and make result collation faster. Unfortunately, the BVAS has had its battles and INEC has questions to answer.
Because BVAS was supposed to make it easier to transmit results, Nigerians have been counting on INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) where results are to be uploaded live. Unfortunately, both BVAS and iREV are facing serious challenges and are currently unreliable.
While one cannot say that this is a deliberate ploy by INEC to rig the election, it calls into question their efficiency and transparency, if results are being uploaded and people can’t see them clearly.
When INEC said results would be uploaded on its portal, it failed to mention one would need eagle eyes to see them. In what world is this an equation of transparency and openness? pic.twitter.com/CO2pmVxKTB
There have never been elections without court cases
Is it a Nigerian election if the losers don’t defend their stance in a court of law? Surely not.
In 2019, results were released in February. However, INEC still had to withdraw 64 certificates of return and give them to the winners of court cases in May.
There could be the possibility of a runoff election
Let’s not forget that we have three main contenders for Nigeria’s iron throne instead of the usual two political parties.
If any of the candidates do not get a simple majority of votes and 25% of votes in 24 states, we, as citizens, may need to come out to vote again in a runoff election.
So, for now, drink water, sleep well and take it easy. Also, follow Citizen’s 2023 election tracker for updates on the results. We got you!
In the meantime, let’s try our best not to distribute fake election results. If in doubt, send a message to the Citizen Situation Room on Whatsapp and we will fact-check for you.
The polls are starting to close for the 2023 presidential elections, and polling unit results from various states across the country have started trickling in, along with other stories. Here are the updates:
Some polling units started the voting process late
Voters in Wumba village, Abuja, experienced difficulties in the voting process. This was due to excess voter turnout. Voters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa had only started sorting ballot papers around 7 p.m. (WAT).
Voters in some polling units in Sangotedo and Ajah could not vote. This happened due to the absence of INEC officials. A member of the Citizen Situation room narrated to us how she had to sadly go home after fourteen hours of waiting at the Sangotedo primary school polling unit.
Protests at a polling unit in Sangotedo, Lagos. Voters are angry because INEC officials are yet to show up for the polls. pic.twitter.com/5jgyrwJ2pX
There was election violence in various parts of Nigeria
Voters in Lagos, particularly in the Ikate-Elegushi and Aguda, experienced various forms of voter suppression. This included thuggery, harassment of voters and destruction of election materials in polling units.
A writer at Zikoko, Omemi, relayed to us how she witnessed voter harassment when she followed her voter friend to her polling unit:
“We were at the polling unit on Oba Elegushi street at 11 a.m. when a group of men, who looked like hoodlums, came and destroyed plastic chairs and scattered the environment. The first set of ballots were cancelled as a result. Even the INEC official ran away with the ballot papers and only returned after much pleading.”
Polling unit results have been seen to trickle in
Polling unit results are slowly being collated at local levels, and have started to be collated in various wards in the country. Citizen has an election tracker for polling unit result updates as they develop.
The long-awaited 2023 presidential and national assembly elections are finally here. Here’s what we’ve noticed so far:
Polling units opened late
Zikoko Citizen gathered updates across polling units in Lagos, Calabar and Anambra states indicating that voter accreditation started hours later after the appointed time of 8 a.m. Some, up till now (11 a.m. WAT), have yet to see signs of INEC officials at their polling stations.
No sign of any inec official at my polling unit, Ekwulobia Aguata LGA Anambra State.
The funny thing is inec will commence their distribution of material from here.
So if the town that headquartered inec hasn't seen any of her officials, how much the other towns. pic.twitter.com/xiR277zQnK
The Citizen team is also out, and we spotted some officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). What could they be up to? We’ll send in more updates here.
Tinubu arrives at the polling unit in Ikeja
Tinubu entering Ikeja polling unit [Ope Adetayo/Aljazeera]
Supporters of the BAT jubilantly greeted the All-Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as he arrived at his polling unit to vote amidst a stream of bodyguards.
Voting has been temporarily suspended in Ibadan
Voting has been temporarily suspended at Oyelakin Balogun community primary school, Sanyo Ibadan. The local government is Ibadan South East. Polling Units are 36, 37 and 38.
According to INEC’s rules, there should be three polling officials per unit, but only two are currently present. An electoral observer is filling for INEC; accreditation will be completed before voting starts.
Voters have also complained that the BVAS machine is malfunctioning.
Security officials detain loiterers
Nigerians not participating in the voting process were picked up by security agents and detained for loitering.
President Buhari casts vote for successor
Today would be the last day that Buhari would vote as president of Nigeria — and the first time that he’d be absent from the ballot papers in 20 years.
Against the Electoral Act’s mandated secret ballot, he revealed his ballot paper to show he voted for APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in his hometown of Daura, Katsina.
Peter Obi votes in Anambra
Peter Obi votes in Anambra [Channels Television]
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has cast his vote in his hometown of Agulu in Anambra State.
According to the Stears predictive poll, Obi can only win if he has a high voter turnout in the polls. Read more here.
The 2023 presidential election is here. And as a responsible Nigerian citizen going out to vote, here are tips on how to dress the part.
Fly our Naija colours
It’s pretty simple. If you want fellow voters to take you seriously, make sure your outfits are green-white-green. A green top, white pants and green shoes.
Or settle for black
When in doubt, wear black. It won’t get stained easily, and it’s symbolic. You’re there to bury the shege of the last eight years after all.
It has to be jeans
This is not the time for ashawo shorts or Ayra Starr skirts. Wear comfortable clothes, so when you need to tell someone you’ll share one trouser, they’d know you mean it.
Or combat shorts
You’re there to fight for your future. So make that clear.
You need them boots
Too bad those red boots haven’t gotten to Nigeria yet. But your shoes still need to give a “I go match you for head” vibe.
Have your shades handy
Not sunglasses, shades. They need to be large and black, like the type our mothers used to wear. So before someone thinks of starting small talk, they’ll look at your face and reconsider.
Zikoko Citizen, in partnership with Stears, will publish the 2023 Nigeria election results here. The 2023 Nigeria Election results are sourced directly from INEC and validated by Stears.
But what happens if violence occurs in your polling unit? What if you get picked up by security agents illegally? If there is anything you should know about Nigeria, it’s that we have a large history of election violence. But do not be deterred, you’ve got this.
We have a list of mobile phone apps and websites that could possibly save your life in the eventuality of violence:
The Election Violence Incident Tracker(Evit.ng)
Launched in February 2023, the Election Violence Tracker displays in real-time the early warning signs and triggers of election violence across the country.
In particular, voters in Lagos, Osun, Kwara and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would be able to use the pilot phase of this app during the 2023 elections.
Users can also:
Report cases of electoral violence.
Identify potential risks with an incident analysis dashboard
Detect early warning signs.
Inform security agencies
Generate relevant reports to identify problem areas throughout the elections.
aptResponse
There is the possibility of getting arrested on Election Day, and aptResponse is here with the perfect lawyer plugs.
The app was built by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Boma Alabi. With the app, you can get emergency legal aid. You can also report an incident, receive critical information on the law and be part of a community where legal tips for citizens are being shared on the app
Think of helpOs like ride-hailing apps, Bolt and Uber, but for medical emergencies.
In case one is injured and in need of grave medical attention due to election violence, all you need to do is to type the location of your polling unit and an ambulance would come to the rescue.
Barring any last-minute changes — like in 2019 — the 2023 general elections will go on as scheduled on February 25, 2023. The elections, especially for the top job of the president, are seen by many as crucial and likely to set the direction of Nigeria for years to come.
Without wasting time, here are a few things to expect in the 2023 elections.
Higher voter turnout than in 2019
2019 recorded historic lows, with only 34.75% of registered voters showing up at the polls, less than the 50.96% historical average.
The three states with the lowest voter turnout were Lagos (18.95%), Abia (20.16%) and Rivers (21.09%). On the other hand, the three states with the highest voter turnout were Jigawa (55.67%), Katsina (50.74%) and Sokoto (50.13%).
Nigeria has an unwritten agreement of alternating the presidency between the North and the South. Two of the frontrunners in the 2023 presidential race are from the South. Therefore, expect a much-improved turnout from the southern states.
The looming possibility of a runoff
Nigerian elections typically get decided on the first ballot. This is due to the duopoly between the leading parties, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). However, the emergence of a third force in the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) means there’s a good chance the big two won’t dominate as they usually do.
The constitutional requirement for winning the presidency is not just a simple majority but winning with a spread of at least a quarter of votes in two-thirds of Nigerian states. Many people interpret this to mean 25% in 24 states. If nobody meets these requirements, then a runoff happens, which INEC will conduct within 21 days of the first round of balloting. We wrote everything you need to know about that here.
Heavy security presence
First-time voters may be surprised by the presence of heavy security officers during the polls. To ease your mind, they’re only there to ensure the smooth conduct of the election.
Neither the military nor the police will interfere with the democratic process — unless you go out of your way to be a nuisance. The Electoral Act empowers presiding officers to call on the police to arrest voters who may be impersonating. Underage voting is also not allowed.
Free flow of traffic
This is what Ikorodu road in Lagos looked like on election day in 2019.
[Empty Lagos roads on election day. AFP]
It’s best to sort out your needs before this Saturday’s polls. If you had Owambe planned, you should revisit your calendar to postpone because polls will severely restrict traffic during voting hours. Please don’t say we didn’t do anything for you.
Party agents
There are over 176,000 polling units in Nigeria. On election day, each of them will be monitored by party agents. These are people accredited by political parties and INEC to watch proceedings during the voting process. You would see them wearing tags indicating the parties they represent.
Party agents can call the attention of election officials if they suspect someone isn’t who they claim to be, that is, an impersonator. Per the Electoral Act, they can also challenge a count at the end of polls if they believe the presiding officer made an error. The presiding officer must do a recount, but only once.
Party agents are pretty observant. During the counting process, if they notice that a voter’s choice isn’t clear on the ballot paper, maybe because of smudged ink that leads to a vote cast for two different parties, they’ll object loudly. So as not to have your ballot voided, shine your eyes when voting. We did a video explainer on that here.
What else should I know?
If you need help determining where your polling unit is, click the link here to confirm or follow the prompt in the screenshot below.
We also did an explainer here on how to survive election day. Our election tracker goes live on February 25. Get yourself up to date with verified results from across the country by visiting this link.
