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Defections, political intolerance and threat of election boycott

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On Monday, March 9, 2026, there was a press release that Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State have dumped the Peoples Democratic Party and has decided to pitch his political tent with the ruling party at the center, All Progressives Congress. The development was confirmed on Monday in a statement issued by the governor’s media aide, Nuhu Anka, who said the defection followed his principal’s engagements with party leaders, elders and supporters in the state. According to the governor’s aide, “This decision was reached after wide consultations with political stakeholders and supporters, particularly in view of the prolonged internal crisis, leadership disagreements, and unresolved structural challenges within the PDP at both the national and state levels.” Recall that PDP after 2023 General Elections had 12 governors under its umbrella but the lingering internal strife within its fold has robbed the party of 10 out of the dozen it had three years ago. Those who had previously defected...
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Antics of desperate Nigerian politicians

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  I have been fortunate to work in the field of Democracy and Good Governance, popularly called D&G, for over 25 years. I have been an accredited observer of elections in Nigeria since 1999. I have worked for both domestic and international organisations on elections and electoral reforms. I have built capacities of different actors and stakeholders in the electoral process, from election management bodies, namely the Independent National Electoral Commission and State Independent Electoral Commissions, political parties and contestants, civil society organisations, national and state legislative assemblies, media, and security agencies. I am a development consultant, author of three books on governance and a renowned public affairs analyst. I say without any fear of contradiction that Nigeria’s major challenge is our vicious, self-centred and desperate politicians who will stop at nothing to win elections. Nigeria has been having electoral reforms since 2001, yet the quality...
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Electoral Act 2026 and FCT Area Council polls

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  2026 is set to be a year of politics and politicking. On February 17, National Assembly passed the harmonised version of Electoral Bill 2026 and in an unprecedented manner, without recourse to the Office of Attorney General and Minister of Justice for legal opinion, President Bola Tinubu signed the bill last Wednesday, February 18, 2026. It will be important to educate Nigerians on some of the salient provisions even as we await the gazette copy and wide circulation of our sixth electoral act (2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2022 and now 2026) in this Fourth Republic. Last Saturday, the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted yet another batch of elections. The commission held elections into the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory as well as bye elections into two state constituencies in     Rivers State (Ahoada East II and Khana II) and two state constituency in Kano (Ungogo and Kano Municipal). Lest I forget, INEC had on Friday February 13, 2026 a...
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Electoral Act 2026: gains and missed opportunities

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  Introduction Nigeria is earnestly preparing for her eight general elections in 2027. Ahead of that, machinery was set in motion by critical actors and stakeholders to play their part in the upcoming epochal event. The country’s judiciary had made profound statements on our last electoral act passed in 2022. The Supreme Court among other things said the Independent National Electoral Commission designed result viewing portal known as IREV is unknown to our laws and as such could not be basis upon which alleged electoral fraud of 2023 general elections could be based, INEC in February 2024 published its 526-page official report on the 2023 General Elections.   By December 2024, immediate past chairman of INEC Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says the commission has come up with 142 recommendations to improve the future electoral process. By February 2024, the National Assembly inaugurated House of Rep and Senate committees on electoral reforms. On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Presiden...
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President Tinubu should visit Ikogosi Warm Spring

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Anyone following my write-up on this page would have known by now that I am a man of culture and enjoys writing about my travelogue. I have visited many of Nigeria’s tourists’ sites and few others across the globe. Some of them bears recounting here. Remember that on this page last week, I wrote about my experience visiting, for the first time. the Osun Grove in Osogbo. I also visited the palace of Ataoja of Osogbo. In Osun State, I have also been to Ife Museum, the site of Oranmiyan staff as well as the Ooni of Ife’s palace. In Oyo State, I have visited the Agodi Garden, Ibadan University Zoological Garden, Captain Bower’s Tower at Oke Are, Mapo Hall built in 1929 and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. In Ogun State, I have climbed the Olumo Rock, visited Itoku Tie and Dye fabrics market. I have also been to Centenary Hall and Alake of Egbaland’s Palace and Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Mausoleum at Ikenne.   In Lagos, I have visited the first storey building in...
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Osun Grove needs a facelift

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  From February 2 - 6, 2026, I was on an official visit to Osogbo. It was the longest I had stayed since I started visiting the Osun State capital. After a hectic work schedule, I decided to take a break to visit the Osun grove, one of the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Nigeria. It was an epochal visit.   But before I share what I saw, let me give you a short historical background of Osun, the State of the Living Spring. Osun is one of the six states in the South-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Information gleaned from the official website of the state says that it is bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Ogun State and to the west by Oyo State. Named after the River Osun—a vital river which flows through the state—the state was formed from the south-east of Oyo State on August 27, 1991, and has its capital in the city of Osogbo. River Osun is symbolic because it serves both spiritual and tourist purposes in the sta...
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My phone conversation with a friend on Ekiti

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  Me: “Hello, my pal. How are you? To what do I owe this august call in January?” My friend: “Jide, you’re not serious. When last did you call me too?” Me: “It’s true, amigo. I’ve been busy lately. Man must eat now. As you know, in Naija, no food for lazy man” My friend: “You’re right. Are you at home this weekend? We need to hang out. It’s been a while.” Me: “Ah! Wrong time! I am actually in the field doing research for one of my clients.” My friend: “So, what’s your field research about? Me: “It’s about the forthcoming June 20, 2026, Ekiti gubernatorial election.” My friend: “What about it?” Me: “We want to know how the election will pan out.” My friend: “Professor! Jide, please come down to my level o! You know say me I no know book like you.” Me: “Come off it, buddy. Aren’t you a varsity graduate?” My friend: “Anyways, I learnt there is now a direct flight from Abuja and Lagos to Ekiti without having to first go through Akure in Ondo State.” Me: “That’s ...
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