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Drive Safely, Stay Safe into 2021, Oyeyemi Urges Nigerians
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has urged Nigerians to drive safely and stay safe as they enter into the new year, saying all bad driving habits should be discarded while the good lessons learnt and practiced during the outgoing year should be sustained with commitment to ensuring personal safety and health of the individuals. This was contained in the new year message to Nigerians by the Corps Marshal of FRSC as part of the ongoing sensitisation efforts by the Corps to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring public safety through adherence to traffic rules and regulations.
According to a press release signed by the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Marshal expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for the grace of protection and guidance given to the nation in the face of the various health, safety and security challenges experienced in the outgoing year. He therefore, appealed for sustained consciousness by people to overcome the challenges in the new year.
The Corps Marshal particularly enjoined members of the public not to violate the guidelines put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, stressing the need for people to regularly wash their hands with soap, wear face masks and observe social distancing. These he said, remain the best preventive measures against the infectious disease threatening the entire world through the second wave of the pandemic. “We must remain vigilant in all that we do, to avoid a situation where our actions and inactions could contribute to the spread of the dreaded disease,” he stated.
Bisi further disclosed that though the Corps Marshal is pleased with the conduct of most drivers during the recent Christmas celebration which made the rate and fatalities of road traffic crashes manageable, he however cautioned that if such good habits were not sustained in the new year, there could be a resurgence of crash situation which could undermine the gains made from the special patrol. “Every Nigerian must remain committed to tackling the challenges which road safety and COVID-19 pose to the nation’s health, safely, security and wellbeing by doing what is right at all times,” he further stated.
On the most common factors responsible for fatal crashes during the Christmas celebration, the Corps Marshal restated his earlier observations on the pervasiveness of speeding as a causative factor, noting that Commanding Officers have been given a marching order to force down the rate of speed induced crashes through aggressive enforcement of the laws on speed limiting devices.”The discovery that some Nigerians are still flouting the law on use of speed limiting devices in their vehicles resulting in the upsurge in speed related crashes recorded during the special patrol was unfortunate. But I want to assure all road users that such abdication of responsibility by the drivers would not be tolerated in the new year, “he warns.
Oyeyemi commended all the stakeholders that joined the road safety campaigns during the festive periods to make the roads safer, adding that road safety remains a shared responsibility which no single organisation can tackle all alone without support and collaboration of relevant stakeholders. He specially expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR for rendering all necessary moral and logistics support for the success of the campaigns with particular reference to prompt approval by the Federal Government to the third edition of the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy Document which will increase the impetus of road safety sensitisation programmes in the new year.
The FRSC Corps Marshal called on all Nigerians to embrace the ongoing safer road campaign and make it an all round success for quick socioeconomic development of the nation. He also reminded Nigerians that it’s only the living that can celebrate, stressing that speeding must be contained by all means, despite its thrilling effects.
While admonishing Nigerians on their personal responsibility to the campaigns to make the roads safer, Oyeyemi further urged the people to remain active by always observing the traffic rules and regulations and reporting road and other emergencies promptly to the FRSC toll free line: 122 or the studios of the National Traffic Radio-107.1fm through the telephone lines:08052998090 or 09067000015 for prompt response.
As he wishes all Nigerians safer and prosperous new year, the Corps Marshal assures the nation that FRSC will continue to be vigilant in safeguarding the roads throughout the new year and beyond for safety and security of the people. He further appealed to all to abide by the safety measures put in place to guarantee safety and security of all members of the public.
The Senate, on Tuesday, passed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026.
Before the passage, there was a rowdy session as the upper chamber resumed proceedings with a demand for division over Clause 60 raised by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South).
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, stated that he believed the demand had previously been withdrawn, but several opposition senators immediately objected to that claim.
Citing Order 52(6), the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, argued that it would be out of order to revisit any provision on which the Senate President had already ruled.
This submission sparked another uproar in the chamber, during which Senator Sunday Karimi had a brief face-off with Abaribe.
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, then reminded lawmakers that he had sponsored the motion for rescission, underscoring that decisions previously taken by the Senate are no longer valid.
He maintained that, consistent with his motion, Senator Abaribe’s demand was in line.
Akpabio further suggested that the call for division was merely an attempt by Senator Abaribe to publicly demonstrate his stance to Nigerians.
The Senate President sustained the point of order, after which Abaribe rose in protest and was urged to formally move his motion.
Rising under Order 72(1), Abaribe called for a division on Clause 60(3), specifically concerning the provision that if electronic transmission of results fails, Form EC8A should not serve as the sole basis, calling for the removal of the proviso that allows for manual transmission of results in the event of network failure.
During the division, Akpabio directed senators who supported the caveat to stand.
He then asked those opposed to the caveat to rise.
Fifteen opposition senators stood in opposition.
However, when the votes were counted, the Senate President announced that 15 senators were not in support of the proviso, while 55 senators voted in support of it.
Earlier, proceedings in the Senate were momentarily stalled as lawmakers began clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026, following a motion to rescind the earlier amendment.
The motion to rescind the bill was formally seconded on Tuesday, paving the way for the upper chamber to dissolve into the committee of the whole for detailed reconsideration and reenactment of the proposed legislation.
During the session, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, reeled out the clauses one after another for deliberation.
However, the process stalled when at clause 60, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC/Abia South), raised a point of order, drawing immediate attention on the floor.
Following the intervention, murmurs spread across the chamber as lawmakers began speaking in small groups and approaching the Senate President’s desk for consultations.
The chamber immediately moved into a closed door session.
Before rescinding the Electoral Act, the Red Chamber raised concerns over the timing of the 2027 general elections and technical inconsistencies in the legislation.
Rising under Order 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, the Senate leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved the motion to reverse the earlier passage of the bill and return it to the Committee of the Whole for fresh deliberations.
He explained that the development follows the announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of a timetable fixing the 2027 general elections for February 2027, after consultations with the leadership of the National Assembly.
He stated that stakeholders had raised concerns that the proposed date conflicts with the provisions of the amended law, particularly the requirement that elections be scheduled not later than 360 days before the expiration of tenure.
He further noted that upon critical review of the passed bill, the 360-day notice requirement prescribed in Clause 28 could result in the scheduling of the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections during the Ramadan period.
According to him, holding elections during Ramadan could negatively affect voter turnout, logistical coordination, stakeholder participation, and the overall inclusiveness and credibility of the electoral process.
The motion also highlighted discrepancies discovered in the Long Title and several clauses of the bill, including Clauses 6, 9, 10, 22, 23, 28, 29, 32, 42, 47, 51, 60, 62, 64, 65, 73, 77, 86, 87, 89, 93, and 143. The identified issues reportedly affected cross-referencing, serial numbering, and internal consistency within the legislation.
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House of Reps Members Stage Walk-out As Brouhaha over Real-time Electronic Transmission of Results Continues
Members of the House of Representatives walked out of a plenary session on Tuesday amid ongoing public protests over the electronic transmission clause in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2026.
The walk-out came as demonstrators continued to pressure lawmakers to make real-time electronic transmission of election results mandatory in the amended electoral law.
Protesters, drawn from civil society groups including the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and ActionAid Nigeria, have held demonstrations outside the National Assembly complex, calling on legislators to adopt the stronger House version of the clause.
House members reportedly left the session after intense disagreements on whether to retain or rescind the provision making real-time transmission compulsory.
Lawmakers opposed to scrapping the clause argued it is vital for election transparency, while others favoured aligning with the Senate’s version, which allows discretionary electronic transmission paired with manual collation.
The protests stem from nationwide concern that removing explicit language on real-time electronic transmission could open the door to manipulation or delayed uploads of polling unit results, undermining public trust in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Civil society representatives at the National Assembly gates said they would maintain their demonstrations until lawmakers commit to a version of the bill that guarantees real-time technology in the results system.
They argue that technological infrastructure exists in most parts of Nigeria, and that gaps should be resolved rather than used as a reason to revert to manual processes.
A former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has issued a stern warning to election officials and stakeholders, urging Nigerians to ensure that every vote counts in the 2027 general election.
Obi stressed that anyone who attempts to manipulate or obstruct the counting of votes will be held accountable for undermining the country’s democracy.
“Unlike in the past, in 2027 our votes MUST count, and all those who are there not to count the votes will be counted among those destroying Nigeria,” he wrote on X on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Obi, who has declared that he will contest the 2027 presidential election, advised voters to stay at polling units after casting their ballots to observe the counting and transmission of results, emphasising that preventing the proper tallying of votes would attract legal consequences.
The former Labour Party presidential candidate said: “I encourage everyone to remain at the polling units after voting to count and witness the counting and transmission of results. Those who refuse to allow the votes count will be made to count the full weight of the law against rigging.
“Let me reiterate: if you do not count our votes, we will count you among those who destroy our democracy, thereby destroying our future, and you must answer to the law.”
