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Atiku’s Aide Speaks On ‘Why’ President Tinubu Refused To Nominate Fani-Kayode, Keyamo As Ministers
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2 years agoon
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The aide to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, Daniel Bwala has said that President Bola Tinubu refused to nominate some of his supporters as ministers because of the European Union report.
The European Union Election Observation Mission had listed a former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Fani-Kayode, as propagators of fake news during the 2023 general election in Nigeria.
EU accused Keyamo and Fani-Kayode of misleading Nigerians by spreading fake news during the 2023 general elections.
The EU Observers cited instances where both APC chieftains propagated fake news while campaigning for their candidates.
Speaking on the reason Tinubu refused to nominate some of his avid supporters, Bwala opined that it was because of the EU report.
He insisted that Tinubu was very smart and did not want to get on the wrong side of the Union.
Speaking via Twitter, he wrote, “PBAT na sharp President ohh. He knows how much he values the European Union’s opinion and wants to please them. Have you not noticed that those who EU reckon as CERTIFIED MERCHANTS OF FAKE NEWS. Tinubu refused to appoint them as ministers?”

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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it is currently prosecuting 774 individuals for electoral offences committed during the 2023 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this disclosure in Abuja during the first quarterly consultative meeting with the media.
He explained that the commission is working alongside the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure offenders face justice.
Yakubu highlighted the successes recorded so far, stating, “Through our collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association, cases involving 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 General Election are being prosecuted.”
He further noted, “So far, successful prosecutions have been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi states while our collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on vote-buying has yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara and Gombe States. Yet, many cases are still pending.”
Yakubu emphasized the urgent need for a specialized Electoral Offences Tribunal, pointing out that the regular courts are often overburdened with cases, causing delays in handling electoral violations.
He explained, “One of these areas of reform is the prosecution of electoral offenders. Judicial and legislative action in the last few days underscores our effort to deal with offences involving officials of the Commission assigned to carry out designated responsibilities.”
Citing a recent case, he remarked, “The recent successful prosecution of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom State is a case in point. The Commission has been diligently pursuing the case which arose from the 2019 General Election. In this particular case, it took nearly six years to achieve the successful prosecution at the trial court.”
Yakubu blamed the prolonged legal battles on the absence of a clear legal framework and dedicated courts for electoral offences.
He urged lawmakers to expedite the establishment of a tribunal that would ensure timely prosecution of offenders.
He stressed, “A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals.”
He further explained, “Furthermore, they are solely prosecuted by the Magistrate and State High Courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed. No priority attention is given to such cases as the courts deal with a variety of other cases. Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases.”
Urging the media to support the push for reforms, he stated, “It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that has a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases. I urge the media to join in this patriotic advocacy for the good of our electoral democracy.”
Yakubu also highlighted the increasing frequency of bye-elections caused by vacant legislative seats. He revealed that recent vacancies were due to the deaths of serving members and cases of prolonged absenteeism.
He said, “In addition to the end-of-tenure elections, there is an increasing number of bye-elections to be conducted. In the last three weeks alone, vacancies have occurred in one Federal Constituency and two State Constituencies caused by the death of serving members.”
He added, “In another State Constituency, the State Assembly declared the seat vacant as a result of absenteeism, following the prolonged absence of the member from sittings of the House in violation of Section 109(1)[f] of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). The matter of pending bye-elections is also on the agenda for this meeting.”
National Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Achike Chidi, noted that INEC has often struggled to prosecute electoral offenders, not because of a lack of willingness, but due to legal and structural constraints.
He emphasized that this challenge underscores the need for a dedicated Electoral Offences Tribunal.
Chidi urged lawmakers to take swift action, arguing that INEC is overburdened with responsibilities that could be better handled by a specialized judicial body.
He also called for alternative voter identification methods to increase electoral participation.
Chidi remarked, “The INEC Chairman also talked about the fact that every electoral process presents with new opportunities. And as these new opportunities arise, they have to be confronted with new responses. And so perhaps we will also look at the issue of using other processes for the purpose of even voting.”
He suggested, “Recognise processes such as the people who possess national identity cards, international passports, driving licenses. Perhaps these are also things that they can also look at, as they look at other processes.”
On the prosecution of offenders, Chidi observed, “If there is one thing I think some of us have noticed, it is the fact that INEC has always been very reluctant when it comes to this pressure on them to prosecute offenders. It is not that they do not want to prosecute offenders.”
He concluded, “I think it’s part of the reasons why people have been making a case for this electoral tribunal to be put in place. We should also encourage the National Assembly to set these things in motion.”

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has clarified that the House is not endorsing or opposing the recent proposal to create 30 new states in Nigeria.
In a statement released on Friday by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu explained that the proposal, which was read during Thursday’s plenary session, was merely an update to inform Nigerians of the number of applications received.
He also corrected earlier reports, emphasizing that there are 30 proposals, not 31, as mistakenly reported.
However, he pointed out that none of these applications currently meet the constitutional criteria for state creation.
Kalu urged the applicants to follow the procedures outlined in Section 8(1-3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and noted that they have until March 5 to address the deficiencies in their proposals.
The Nigerian Constitution mandates that for a new state to be created, it must receive a two-thirds majority approval from the Senate, the House of Representatives, the State Houses of Assembly, and the Local Government Areas.
His statement read in part:
“We are the people’s parliament. We are not taking any position on the issue of the creation of States. We have heard a lot of people giving different narratives to the letter that was read. Let me clear the dust.
“During the 9th Assembly, we received more requests for State creation and some of them came through private member bills. Some came from the memoranda we called for and in this 10th Assembly, we have received 30, not 31. I think, on that list, they repeated Ibadan State twice. It is 30 that we have received.
“But having received that, in the last assembly, people did not know why their request for State creation did not go through. In this 10th Assembly, we decided to let the people know that, granted, we have received all the applications for new States to be created either through member bills or memoranda, but we do not concede that all of them are good enough to be created.
“There are constitutional procedures in section 8, subsections 1 to 3 on how this application should be made. As we speak, none of these 30 proposals have met the requirements of section 8 and that was why we decided to bring it to the notice of Nigerians that your application before us is ineffective.
“Therefore, you need to comply with section 8 so that when we don’t consider the State creation request, you will know where it emanated from. So, the notice to the public is that you have between now and March 5 to enable you to cure the gaps in your application for state creation.
“And if you go to section 8, you will see two-thirds, the majority of the Senate, that of the House of Representatives, the State Houses of Assembly as well as the local government councils. So, let’s follow that procedure and then present these applications again. We are going to the Newspapers to place public announcements so that those who want new States to be created should follow the guidelines as laid down by the constitutional provisions.”
Kalu reiterated that the House is not rushing into any decisions and that all applications must strictly adhere to the constitutional framework.
“We are giving them one month, which is about March 5, to cure the gaps in the applications. The applications as they are will not be able to fly because we are strict with complying with the dictates of the provisions of the constitution. They should fill in the gaps and bring it back before March 5.
“There is no alternative to compliance with the provisions of the Constitution. The position of the Constitution is sacrosanct. It’s our grundnorm. If it says you have to follow certain procedures in line with the rule of law and observe its supremacy, you have to comply with the provision of the Constitution.
“Those who are desirous of State creation should comply with the procedures laid down in the Constitution and bring it back. There is a window we have created which is one month. It is sufficient enough for people to cure the gaps in their applications and we will reconsider it,” he added.
He further noted that the high volume of state creation requests reflects the people’s desire for more government presence and resources at the grassroots level.
“I think it reflects the desire to enjoy the dividends of democracy. People want the dividends of democracy to trickle down the grassroots and they feel in their minds that the best approach is to have their own state.
“So, if you watch the space closely, you will see the President has been very intentional in creating development commissions across the country.
“Beyond the feeling of marginalisation is a desire to have the dividends of democracy felt at the grassroots more than before, and the instrument of State creation for some people is what they believe will be used as a tool to achieve that.
“That’s what many Nigerians believe. The more States you create, the more they will have access to the dividends of democracy. Whether that is true or not, it is not for me to judge because you know I am a presiding officer and the Chairman of the committee of the Constitution review, and I can’t take a position.
“My position is to be the unbiased umpire who will listen to the desires of all Nigerians either through the bills presented to the parliament for constitutional amendment or the memoranda that we received from the public. So, when we do, we analyse and then take a position based on what the people want,” he said.
When asked about Afenifere’s stance—that states should control their resources and remit revenue to the federal government instead of pushing for new state creation—Kalu responded that the parliament remains open to all perspectives.
“Honestly, the parliament listens to all sides of narratives on any issue, and ours is to know the pulse of the people. How they feel about an issue and then analyse it through debates, and then the parliament will not take a position. We will not impose any position on Nigerians,” he said.
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