Public Affairs Analyst

“ Recent reports of violations by underage persons following the local government elections in Kano State are deeply disturbing.  The voter register in Kano State is the one used for the 2015 general election. In July 2016, INEC used the same register to conduct a State Assembly bye-election in Minjibir Constituency…... No single incidence of underage voting was recorded. What therefore happened in the last local government election conducted by the State Electoral Commission? Was the voter register actually used or not?”  - INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Friday, February 16, 2018 while setting up investigative panel to unravel the reported incidence of underage voting in Kano LG election. On February 10, 2018, Kano State Independent Electoral Commission conducted elections into the 44 Local Government Areas and 484 Councillorship positions in the state. As usual, the ruling party in the state, All Progressives Congress, won all the contested positions. That is ho...

Background Since the House of Representatives passed the 2010 Electoral Act amendment on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, there has been a lot of disquiet in the polity.  Senate had earlier on March 30, 2017 passed its own version of the amendment. The major concern of the political watchers is the reordering of sequence of election by the Green Chamber.  It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission had on March 9, 2017 announced the dates and sequence of elections and only on January 9, 2018 released a comprehensive schedule of elections. According to the commission, the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold simultaneous on February 16, 2019 while Governorship, state assembly elections as well as Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections are to hold two weeks after on March 2, 2019. This was the same sequence the 2015 General Elections were held. However, the House of Representatives decided to reorder the elections as follows:...

Happy Valentine’s Day! It will be one year to the proposed 2019 general election on Friday, February 16, 2018. The Independent National Electoral Commission has been put on the spot recently. Many news media are interrogating the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration exercise. In fact, this newspaper’s sister publication, Saturday PUNCH of February 10 had a screaming headline on its front page entitled “Voter registration: Shortage of manpower, faulty equipment mar exercise”. Earlier, NOI Polls on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 published report of its opinion survey on the commission’s CVR. Apart from that issue, INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu last Thursday hosted the Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu. During the courtesy visit, the INEC chairman solicited the support of the EFCC in addressing vote buying and monitoring of political parties’ campaign funds. Furthermore, the National Assembly last Tuesday passed the Electoral Act 2010 amendm...

“Corruption and its effects have many sides. It poses real threat to national security, unity and survival of the African State and people. The African Union Agenda 2063, under Aspiration 3 recognises that corruption erodes the development of a universal culture of good governance, democratic values, gender equality, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of the law.” – President Muhammadu Buhari in his speech at the launch of 2018 as the African Anti-Corruption Year on January 28, at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was the first time that the African Union will declare a year-long fight against corruption. To lead the assault, the AU on July 4, 2017, at its 29th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa unanimously endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari. Was this a meritorious appointment? Is there no better African leader to lead the fight against corruption in Africa? How has Buhari fared at the home front? What are the hurdles the Presiden...