Public Affairs Analyst

  On June 11 and 24, 2026, the Nigeria House of Representatives and Senate respectively singled out the state police constitution amendment bill for passage into law. This brings to an end decade of agitations and advocacy for the decentralisation of Nigeria policing system. I have argued on this page severally that this is the best way to go. Key highlights include empowering state governors to appoint Commissioners of Police (confirmed by State Assemblies) and establishing institutional safeguards to prevent the political abuse of state police. Dual Police Framework replaces the singular national police structure with a Federal Police Service (handling border security, cybercrime, and terrorism). The bill explicitly prohibits governors and politicians from directing police to target political opponents, ethnic groups, or associations. State Police Service Commissions will independently oversee recruitment, promotion, and discipline. The federal police retain the authority to in...

  On June 15, 2026, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister five political parties namely African Democratic Congress, Action Alliance, Action Peoples Party, Accord Party and Zenith Labour Party over their alleged failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration. The suit was filed by a group known as the National Forum of Former Legislators. According to the plaintiffs, the affected parties failed to meet constitutional benchmarks as stated in Section 225A, including securing at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective seat at the federal, state or local government level. The former legislators argued that the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, failing to secure representation across key levels of government. They maintained that the continued recognition of the partie...

  Pursuant to section 178 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered, the Independent National Electoral Commission has held the fourth in the series of off-cycle governorship election in Ekiti State on Saturday, June 20, 2026. Recall that as a result of the 2007 governorship election in Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the then Action Congress of Nigeria decided to seek redress at the election tribunal following the INEC’s declaration of Engineer Segun Oni of Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of that poll. After three years of legal fireworks both at the tribunal and the appellate court, the Court of Appeal in Ilorin declared Fayemi as the winner of that disputed election thereby sacking Oni. The first off cycle governorship election in Ekiti State was held in 2014. Others were held in 2018, 2022 and 2026. Off cycle governorship election actually started in Anambra State in a dispute over the 2003 governorship poll between Dr. Chris Ngige o...

  In the aftermath of party primaries held across the 22 registered political parties in Nigeria between April 23 and May 30, 2026, the parties are now trying to resolve issues arising from the exercise. While many aspirants who felt shortchanged in the nomination process have petitioned the party-primaries appeal committees, others have gone to court to ventilate their grievances, while some others have defected to other parties with the hope of picking the party ticket. A political party ticket is the most sought-after by Nigerian politicians at this point. As political parties compile the list of winners in their party primaries for the upcoming nomination to the Independent National Electoral Commission, the electoral management body has said that access codes will be given to the designated party officials to upload candidates’ particulars for the 2027 general election on its portal between June 26 and July 11, 2026. Currently, many of the parties are also finalising the nom...

I respect, admire and love Igbo people of Nigeria for their resilience, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. It is said that if you go to any community in Nigeria and you can’t find an Igbo person there, please don’t stay because such environment is either too dangerous or barren. The Igbos are the most itinerant people among the ethnic groups in Nigeria. They hardly stay in the South East region where they occupy five states of Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Abia and Anambra. Sizeable population of Igbo people can be found in Delta, Rivers, Edo, Kogi, and Lagos states. As I hinted on this page last week, I was in Abia and Imo State from May 28 – June 1, 2026. I was on official assignment to God’s own state of Abia. In the course of that visit, I visited Aba, Isiala Ngwa, Umuahia, Owerri and Oguta. Sincerely speaking, the south east region is undergoing massive infrastructural transformation. The road networks in particular are being upgraded and expanded thereby reducing travel time among ...

  Last weekend, from Thursday, May 28 to Sunday, May 31, 2026, I was in Abia State on an official assignment. I flew from Abuja to Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri and did the 1 hour 30 minutes trip from Owerri to Umuahia by road. It wasn’t my first time in the state whose moniker is” God’s own State” but I haven’t been there in about 15 years. Meanwhile, I have heard so much about Governor Alex Otti’s magic in the state and looked forward to seeing things for myself; after all, it is said that seeing is believing! Information gleaned from the website of the Abia State Ministry of Information shows that Abia State   was created on August 27, 1991, following the division of the former Imo State. Its capital is Umuahia, while Aba is its commercial nerve center. The area now known as Abia has long been a center of commerce, craftsmanship, and agricultural production. Aba, the state's major commercial city, has been a beacon of entrepreneurship since colonial t...