Headlines
APC Plans to Visit Tinubu, Begs Members in New Reconciliation Moves
The Mai Mala Buni-led All Progressives Congress Caretaker Committee and Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee will before the end of this week visit the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, The PUNCH has learnt.
It was gathered that this was part of the decisions taken during the inaugural meeting of the committee held at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, on Monday. The meeting, which started at 1.02pm ended at 3.16pm.
It was learnt that the visit, which had been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, was meant to reassure the APC national leader that the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee was not targeted at him.
The APC National Executive Committee had, at its meeting attended by the President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday sacked the party’s NWC loyal to the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, whose suspension was upheld by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on June 16.
Following Oshiomhole’s suspension on June 16, the APC was divided into two factions with one led by its suspended Deputy National Secretary, Victor Giadom, and the other consisting of 18 NWC members, who were loyal to the national chairman.
Buhari declared support for Giadom and attended the Thursday meeting, which he convened.
Many analysts had interpreted Buhari’s support for Giadom and the sack of the NWC loyal to Oshiomhole, as the President’s deft move against Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
But the Presidency, in a statement on Saturday dismissed reports that Buhari and Tinubu had fallen apart following the dissolution of the NWC.
Also, Tinubu, in a statement on Saturday, supported the dissolution of the NWC at the instance of the President during the NEC meeting. Buhari, Tinubu said, acted like a true father to save the party from disintegration.
An APC chieftain, who confided in our correspondent, said at their meeting on Monday, the party caretaker committee members agreed to visit Tinubu to seek his support.
The source said, “It was agreed that the committee should go and meet our national leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to pacify and assure him that the dissolution of the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee of our great party was not targeted at him. He is one of our most revered leaders. We recognise and appreciate his enormous contributions to this party. We plan to visit him tomorrow (Tuesday). If the visit does not take place tomorrow, it will take place before the end of the week.”
The chairman also appealed to all party members to heed the appeal by the President to aggrieved members, who had cases in courts. He urged them to withdraw the cases in the interest of the party.
Buni said, “I urge all party members to heed to the appeal by our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on his call to all aggrieved members who have instituted various cases in the courts to please withdraw such cases in the interest of our great party.”
The Punch
President John Mahama of Ghana has ordered the immediate recall of Mohammed Ahmed, known as Baba Jamal, from his position as the country’s high commissioner to Nigeria over allegations of vote buying in Saturday’s parliamentary primaries.
Mahama’s decision was in response to claims that delegates were induced during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries.
Jamal was a candidate in the polls, which he later won.
During the election, Jamal’s campaign team offered 32-inch televisions and boiled eggs to delegates who took part in the primaries.
“So if you give television sets to people, what is wrong with it when you give things to people?” he asked, according to local media JoyOnline.
“Is this the first time I am giving things to people?”
Explaining the reason behind Jamal’s recall, Felix Ofosu, Mahama’s spokesperson, said that while the allegations of vote buying were made against multiple candidates who contested the primaries, Jamal was the only serving public officer among them.
“The President has also noted the public statement by the General Secretary of the NDC indicating that the Party has commenced its own investigations into the allegations arising from the primaries,” the statement reads.
“Without prejudice to the ongoing internal party processes, and strictly in view of the standards of conduct expected of public officers, the President considers it necessary to act decisively to preserve the integrity of public office and to avoid any perception of impropriety or conflict with the Government’s Code of Conduct for Political Appointees.”
Ofosu said the high commissioner’s recall takes effect immediately, and that directives had been issued to the minister for foreign affairs to take the necessary administrative steps.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has reconstituted the leadership of its 2026 National Convention Central Coordination Committee, appointing former Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, as the new chairman.
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who was initially named chairman of the committee, has been reassigned to serve as treasurer.
In addition, the APC expanded the committee’s membership from 73 to 90 members to accommodate more party stakeholders.
Newly added members include Senator Barry Mpigi and several other prominent APC chieftains.
According to the party, the adjustments form part of the revised 2026 APC National Convention Central Coordination Committee and were made to reflect zoning considerations and other strategic exigencies.
The Senate, yesterday, passed the Electoral Bill 2026 following hours of robust debate. But it rejected a proposal to mandate real-time electronic transmission of election results while approving significant reforms to election timelines, penalties for electoral offences and voting technology.
At the centre of the controversy was Section 60, which governs the transmission of polling unit results. Senators voted down a recommendation by the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters that would have compelled presiding officers to upload results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal in real time.
Instead, lawmakers retained the approach in the 2022 Electoral Act, which allows electronic transmission after votes are counted and publicly announced at the polling unit.
Relatedly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which concluded work on the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general election, is unable to release it due to ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act by the National Assembly.
It also identified the inclusion of deceased persons on the voters’ register, prompting plans for a nationwide verification exercise.
On its part, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) raised the alarm over the National Assembly’s delay in passing the Electoral Act amendments, warning that the situation could expose political parties to technical and legal pitfalls ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Under the retained provisions, presiding officers are required to: count votes at the polling unit, record results on prescribed forms, announce them publicly and transmit them electronically to the appropriate collation centre.
Copies must also be provided to polling agents and security personnel where available. Violators face fines of up to N500,000 or a minimum of six months’ imprisonment.
Senators opposing the real-time upload argued that inconsistent network coverage and logistical challenges could trigger legal disputes and undermine electoral credibility.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Adeyemi Adaramodu, described the debate as largely semantic.
“Electronic transmission remains part of the law,” he said, “and results will continue to be available to the public both electronically and through physical forms, ensuring verifiable records for disputes.”
Beyond the transmission debate, the Senate approved far-reaching amendments to Nigeria’s electoral calendar. The election notice period was reduced from 360 days to 180 days, the deadline for submission of party candidate lists was shortened from 120 to 90 days, and the nomination period was cut from 180 to 90 days.
To deter electoral malpractice, the fine for unlawful possession of voters’ cards was increased from N500,000 to N5 million, though the Senate rejected a proposal for a 10-year ban on vote-buyers, opting for stiffer financial penalties instead. The smart card reader was officially removed from the electoral framework and replaced with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, noted the delay yesterday in Abuja at INEC’s first quarterly consultative meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
The e-transmission of results, if approved, would have required INEC presiding officers to upload results from each polling unit to the IReV portal in real time, immediately after completing Form EC&A, which must be signed and stamped by the presiding officer and countersigned by party agents.
Instead, the senators chose to retain the present Electoral Act provision, which mandates that “the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot, in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.”
The rejected proposal was contained in the new Clause 60(5) of the draft bill, which aimed to mandate presiding officers to electronically transmit polling unit results in real time after completing and signing Form EC8A.
The clause was designed to strengthen transparency and reduce electoral malpractice through technology-driven result management.
The motion to reject the electronic transmission clause was swiftly seconded by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin.
Similarly, the Senate also rejected a proposed amendment under Clause 47 that would have allowed voters to present electronically-generated voter identification, including a downloadable voter card with a unique Quick Response (QR) code, as a valid means of accreditation.
The Senate further upheld the provision mandating the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) or any other technological device prescribed by INEC for voter verification and authentication, rather than allowing alternative digital identification methods as proposed in the new bill.
With these decisions, the Senate reaffirmed the use of PVC and BVAS-based accreditation while rejecting efforts to expand digital voter identification and make electronic transmission of results compulsory.
The Guardian
