Category Nigeria News

Peter Ameh, the National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has accused former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, of damaging Nigeria’s multi-party democracy during his 10-year tenure at the commission.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Ameh alleged Yakubu’s leadership was characterised by high-handedness, disregard for opposition parties, and a failure to uphold transparency in the electoral process.

According to him, “Under Professor Mahmood’s tenure, the opposition suffered. He was not accommodating when it came to opposition or multi-party democracy; all he wanted was to crush it. The high-handedness was much.”

According to him, Yakubu’s administration had failed to build institutional capacity within INEC, claiming that the commission became elitist and detached from its core mandate.

“Mahmood spent 10 years at the commission, leaving that place, what you see is an elitist escort to protect him from the anger that was in the commission. There wasn’t any essence to build or lift the spirit of the staff,” he stated.

READ ALSO: Yakubu Left Behind A Weaker INEC, Says Yiaga’s Chief Itodo

He further criticised the former INEC chairman for mismanaging Nigeria’s electoral cycles and eroding public trust.

“When you talk about INEC, the commission’s primary duty is to conduct elections. During Mahmood’s tenure, there was corruption and mismanagement. Legitimacy was bastardized,” Ameh said, citing the Edo State election as an example of alleged irregularities.

“The conduct of the 2023 general elections is a bitter taste in everybody’s mouth; that is what he will be remembered for,” he added.

Ameh also faulted Yakubu for failing to take responsibility after the technical glitches that marred the 2023 polls. “He was supposed to come out and say what happened. He made promises that the results would be transmitted, but he failed. Maybe there was a glitch, but he should have set up an independent investigative body to find out what went wrong,” he argued.

He concluded that Yakubu’s actions weakened Nigeria’s democratic structure. “For me, Mahmood’s tenure damaged the multi-party democracy we have. He pushed and invested so much energy in Section 225A to undermine political parties. He turned the essence of our democratic system into a laughing stock,” Ameh stated.

Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, has said that the outgoing Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has left behind a weak electoral commission despite introducing significant reforms during his ten years in office.

Yakubu is leaving office as INEC chairman, having completed his two-term tenure of 10 years.

Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Wednesday, Itodo said while Yakubu made remarkable contributions to the electoral process, political interference weakened the Commission’s independence.

“You cannot wish away that Professor Mahmood introduced remarkable reforms. We are yet, as a country, to maximise the utility and potential of those reforms because of the actions of our politicians,” he said. “But I think that one thing that Professor Mahmood leaves behind to a large extent is a weak INEC  weak to the extent that there is a lot of political interference with the functions of INEC.”

READ ALSO: Yakubu Hands Over To Agbamuche As INEC Acting Chairman

Itodo noted that partisan appointments and external influence in the commission’s affairs undermined the credibility of elections.

“A classic example is the appointment of partisan Resident Electoral Commissioners. The chairman is not the appointing authority, but under Professor Mahmood, we saw how three Resident Electoral Commissioners were removed from office because of either insubordination, lack of competence, or manipulating the electoral process,” he explained.

He added that such interference affected public trust and confidence in the system.

“There are several setbacks you can look at. Where is the level of trust today in the electoral process?” he questioned. “Other actors interfered with the functions of INEC, and that deepened the lack of integrity of the process.”

However, Itodo also acknowledged Yakubu’s major achievements, particularly the adoption of technology that transformed Nigeria’s elections.

“One of the greatest legacies Mahmood leaves behind is the automation of our electoral processes, especially the introduction of technology,” he said. “The BVAS and IReV were game-changers. They deepened the integrity of the accreditation process and enhanced transparency.”

He further praised Yakubu’s commitment to inclusion, noting INEC’s efforts to involve women, youths, and persons living with disabilities in the electoral process.

“Ten years in the life of an institution is indeed a long time,” he added.

The former INEC Chair handed over to May Agbamuche-Mbu as Acting Chairperson on Tuesday.

A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed eight people in a maternity ward in the besieged city of El-Fasher, a medical source told AFP on Wednesday.

The attack, which occurred on Tuesday, also injured seven people in El-Fasher Hospital and “damaged buildings and equipment”, the health worker said on condition of anonymity for their safety.

It is the latest strike on healthcare facilities since the start of the war in Sudan in April 2023, between the RSF and the regular Sudanese army.

El-Fasher Hospital is one of the last functioning health facilities in the North Darfur state capital, where the paramilitary is waging its fiercest assault on the city yet.

READ ALSO: ICC Finds Sudan Militia Chief Guilty Of Crimes Against Humanity

El-Fasher is the only major city in the vast western region of Darfur the RSF has not yet seized, despite besieging the city since May 2024.

The UN has called El-Fasher “the epicentre of child suffering”, where mass starvation has taken hold and even the animal feed families have survived on now costs hundreds of dollars a sack.

The war in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.

The coroner’s inquest into the cause of death of 10 people in the recent fire at the Afriland Tower on Broad Street will begin with a preliminary meeting next week Tuesday, October 14.

The coroner, Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji, assigned by the Chief Coroner of the Lagos State Judiciary disclosed this in letter written to the law firm of Falana & Falana’s Chambers

The inquest follows a formal request by the law firm of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana urging the Chief Coroner of Lagos State to conduct an inquest into the tragic incident of September 16.

The Coroner is also to make recommendations to avoid a reoccurrence of the sad incident.

By a letter dated Sept. 29, 2025, and signed by Taiwo Olawanle on behalf of the firm, the lawyers citing Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007, requested the inquest.

The letter reads, “We are a firm of legal practitioners committed to the defence of human rights, the rule of law, and public accountability in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Afriland Publishes Detailed FAQs On Towers Fire Incident

“It was alleged that 10 people lost their lives in the September 16, 2025, fire at Afriland Tower on Broad Street, Lagos Island. The victims included four officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and six workers of United Capital, who were trapped in the six-storey building after thick smoke engulfed the premises.

“Having regard to the avoidable tragic incident, we humbly request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner’s inquest to be conducted into the cause of the death of this sudden but avoidable death of these persons and make appropriate recommendations under Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner’s Law 2007 which provides that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his Coroner District is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.”

In his response dated Oct. 6, Senior Magistrate Adetunji on behalf of the Chief Coroner wrote, “Please be informed that your matter has been assigned to Coroner Court 9 of Igbosere District, sitting at Court 4, Yaba District. There would be a Preliminary Meeting with all parties to chart a course for the Inquest if one were to be convened.

“Your kind assistance is thus welcomed with detailed information of suggested stakeholders who must attend the said Meeting.

The Enugu State Government has charged the embattled Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Uche Nnaji, to “carry his cross” and personally clear his name before Nigerians.

This comes amid allegation of certificate forgery trailing the minister. He claimed to have graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka as well as obtained his discharge certificate from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

In a statement, the Director of Information in the Ministry of Information and Communication, Chukwuemeka Nebo, said the state government had no involvement whatsoever in the controversies surrounding the minister’s academic record.

“The Enugu State Government dissociates itself completely from these allegations. The Honourable Minister must carry his own cross and clear his name before Nigerians, instead of dragging the government into issues that are entirely personal to him,” Nebo said.

The government’s statement followed reports that the minister invited journalists to a world press conference scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Monday to address the matter, but failed to appear.

“A large number of Nigerian and international journalists reportedly gathered on the minister’s invitation to hear directly from him. But rather than appear before them to answer questions and establish his innocence, the minister absconded, leaving behind proxies who could not withstand the barrage of legitimate questions from journalists,” the statement read.

READ ALSO: Science Minister Resigns After Certificate Forgery Allegation

Nebo questioned the minister’s decision to delegate such a sensitive and personal issue to aides instead of speaking directly to the media.

“Who can narrate Chief Nnaji’s UNN story better than him? Why invite the media, only to outsource the conference? Why send third parties, who lack the answers to critical questions, if he truly has nothing to hide?” he asked.

The Enugu State Government said the questions Nigerians are asking about Mr Nnaji’s academic history are legitimate and deserve direct answers from the minister himself.

“Did he, for his Senate screening, present a purported degree certificate showing that he graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in July 1985?

“Is it true that he deposed in a Federal High Court filing in Abuja that he was not issued any degree certificate by UNN and, if so, how did he come about the degree certificate he presented to the Senate?

“Is it also true that while he claims to have graduated in July 1985, he applied to the university to retake Virology (Course code: MCB 431) in the September 1985 supplementary examination, having failed the course?

“Is it correct that the university, in a letter dated November 8, 1985, informed Uche Nnaji that he again failed Virology (Course code: MCB 431) in the supplementary examination, but could register to retake the course in the June 1986 examination, provided he paid an examination fee of N4.00 (Four Naira)?

“Is it true that on January 3, 1986, he again applied to retake the same Virology examination in June 1986, stating in his letter that he had attached the receipt for the payment of the N4.00 resit fee?

“Is it also a fact that while claiming to possess a university degree, he submitted only his Secondary School WASC Certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 governorship election?

“Why did Uche Nnaji’s proxy at the Abuja press conference claim the minister ‘graduated,’ but stop short of affirming that he was issued a degree certificate?

“Did he also present a purported NYSC discharge certificate showing that he commenced his national service in April 1985 — three months before his supposed graduation — and served until July 1986, an irregular duration of 13 months instead of the statutory 12 months?

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen reiterated the green chamber’s commitment to reforming Nigeria’s electoral process as the House of Representatives resumed plenary.

He argued that one of the main objectives is to reduce costs and contentiousness of elections by allowing for single-day voting, and promote more democratic and inclusive party primaries.

In his welcome-back address to members, the Speaker also mentioned that the next two crucial legislative proposals, the State Police Bill and the Reserved Seats Bill, will be prioritized.

Also read: Akpabio claims that “We’ll Remain Accountable And Responsive” as the Senate resumes plenary.

Following Representative Obinna Aguocha’s intervention, which sought to raise a matter involving matters of privilege, the session suddenly became tense.

Aguocha made reference to a letter Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently facing terrorism-related charges, that he had previously written to both the Speaker and the President.

He expressed his frustration with the Speaker’s office’s inability to respond.

The lawmaker defended himself, insisting that he was acting within the House’s rules when the Speaker asked the speaker to step down and speak directly to his office.