₦airaland Forum

TechToyin:
Peter Obi Refers to Oba as Brother: Disrespectful or Not?

A congratulatory message from Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to the new Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, has triggered debate online about culture, respect, and politics.

On his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi wrote:

> “I warmly congratulate my dear brother, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, Arusa I, on his installation as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland. His ascension to this revered throne is a celebration for the people of Ibadan and a source of pride for the entire Yoruba nation and Nigeria as a whole.”



While many praised Obi’s warm words and emphasis on unity, the phrase “my dear brother” has divided opinions.

Some commentators argue that calling a first-class Yoruba monarch “brother” amounts to a breach of cultural etiquette. In Yoruba tradition, monarchs are regarded as sacred figures and custodians of heritage. According to this line of thought, equating the Olubadan with a political colleague risks trivialising the throne’s reverence.

Others, however, see no disrespect. They point out that Obi and Oba Ladoja share a long history of friendship and political collaboration dating back to their days as governors. To them, “brother” reflects personal closeness, not an attempt to diminish the monarch’s office. Supporters also note that Obi’s broader message was filled with respect, prayers, and admiration for the Olubadan.

The debate reveals a deeper tension: should public figures strictly follow cultural protocols in all settings, or can personal bonds and modern expressions coexist with tradition?

So, what do you think — was Peter Obi’s “my dear brother” a mark of humility and familiarity, or a subtle show of cultural insensitivity?

Peterobiisathie:
with this kind of thinking it will be very difficult for any Deveroper to become president of this country

WizardOfNG:
How can anyone who has "strong political principle" be parroting the delusional and desperate utterances of El Rufai blindly and dogmatically?

You guys should at least be circumspect dealing with the likes of El Rufai who is a master flip-flopper. Of course have and host him in your camp. You need him lol.

Still, you don't have to follow him into every hole he scurries into. There is no "Paul Biya" zeal in Tinubu and you people know it.

Yet you've quickly elevated El Rufai and his toxic rhetoric to your leader and opposition anthem respectively just because of sheer desperation to see PBAT deposed.

No one with strong political principles behave as you and the OP are doing. El Rufai has his value but aligning blindly and automatically behind everything he says and does, at the expense of losing your own political commonsense and identify, reeks of desperation.

benardtotti:
You obviously didn't read the article, how an adult will just rush on social forums to start posting opinions on something they haven't read and assimilated always amuses me .

Peterobiisathie:
how is this fake?
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/press-release/file/1197341/download

Peterobiisathie:
check out this
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/348131-full-list-of-77-nigerians-charged-by-fbi-for-massive-fraud-in-america.html?tztc=1

In trying to understand the curious conduct of Siminalayi Fubara since his reinstatement as the governor of Rivers State after serving out a six-month suspension slammed on him by the headmaster of Nigeria’s democracy, President Bola Tinubu, and his class captain, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, I have had to take a second look at the term, “Stockholm syndrome.”

An AI overview of the phrase explains that in August 1973, four employees at the Kreditbanken Bank in Stockholm, Sweden, were held hostage by a robber named Jan-Erik Olsson and his accomplice, Clark Olofsson, for six days.

During the standoff, the hostages developed an emotional connection with their captors and became afraid of the police. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, famously stated during a call with the Swedish Prime Minister that she trusted her captors but feared the police more.

Following the saga, Nils Johan Bejerot, a Swedish psychiatrist and criminologist, who died on November 29, 1988, coined the phrase Stockholm syndrome in explaining the unexpected behaviour of the hostages, who displayed sympathy and formed an affinity with their captors.

It was strange and inexplicable to the Swedes at the time just as Fubara’s conduct 52 years after has left a lot of people scratching their heads in disbelief. But truth be told, Fubara is as much a hostage as the Stockholm quartet.

Here is a man who, though thoroughly humiliated and stripped of all powers, is still grateful to his tormentors for their ‘kindness and benevolence.’ But do you blame him? After all, allowing him to prefix, once again, his name with the exotic phrase, “His Excellency” and driven around in siren blaring convoys with security details to boot is, indeed, a privilege in his circumstance.

After all, didn’t his tormentor-in-chief, Wike, say on Channels Television last Thursday (the very day Tinubu lifted the state of emergency) that he could have prolonged the emergency rule if he so desired. “If we didn’t want this state of emergency to be lifted, we would have done one or two things to ensure that it continues,” were his exact words.

So, why won’t Fubara, who knows this fact, be grateful that Wike, his lord and personal saviour, was magnanimous enough not to travel that route but instead chose to deliver him from the throes of sudden political death even if he attaches the most stringent and obnoxious strings ever, as, indeed, he did?

It is obvious that the six-month quarantine period was used to purge Fubara of any iota of self-worth and sense of grandeur that the exalted office of governor imbues in occupants. First, his traducers ensuring there was no triumphant entry for him after he was restored to office, kept him away.

Of course, Wike, who apparently knew his whereabouts said no law required him to resume work immediately. “Do you know whether he is in Abuja doing one or two things? Do you know whether he is in Lagos?” he queried, wondering why the longsuffering people of Rivers State should be privileged to know the whereabouts of their governor.


Even the limited reception that was accorded the returnee governor on September 19 at the Port Harcourt International Airport was counted against him as an egregious breach of the agreement of surrender he signed with his tormentors.

That was the point that Bright Amaewhule, President General of the Grassroots Development Initiative, GDI, and an unabashed Wike underling, made when he took umbrage at Fubara’s supporters for the airport reception, calling it an act of enmity towards members of the State House of Assembly. Expressing surprise that Fubara allowed such a gathering and questioning the logic behind welcoming him while ignoring members of the State House of Assembly, Amaewhule said it would further widen the rift between his supporters and those loyal to Wike.

That is how untenable Tinubu and Wike have made Fubara’s position. He is a fair game to all comers and he is helpless because any response from him is considered a breach of the agreement of surrender he willingly signed with his oppressors, which explains why despite vowing not to take President Tinubu’s kindness for granted and the fulsome praises he heaped on his “political leader,” Wike, Fubara still dashed off to Abuja the next day not only to see Mr. President and tell him that he was back and resumed his responsibility as the governor of Rivers State but also to seek his guidance on how to avoid future political crises in Rivers State.

“It is a father-and-son discussion, telling him thank you and seeking his guidance so we don’t find ourselves in any situation that will bring crisis again. He (Tinubu) advised me on what to do and how to go in the right direction,” Fubara told journalists at the Aso Rock Villa after meeting with Tinubu, a classic case of the Stockholm syndrome.

In all this effulgent trauma bonding drama of Fubara, he has not bothered to spare a thought for those who stuck out their necks for him. Of course, doing so will be counted as another breach of the agreement of surrender he signed with his tormentors.

Understandably, well-meaning Nigerians are angry with Fubara and have called him unprintable names, but there is a need to moderate our judgements. As sickening as his conduct and public utterances may be, Fubara, a creation of Wike, is only but a pawn on the Tinubu-Wike political chessboard. He deserves pity because truth be told, he has never been allowed to be a governor in the real sense of the word.

In fact, it was his pretense at being one that led to the brouhaha. In Fubara’s first coming, of the more than 25 commissioners in the state, the only one that came through him was Joe Johnson, who was saddled with the information portfolio. Even at that, he pleaded with Wike to be granted that concession, a plea that was rejected. That was the beginning of the crisis. As a governor, Fubara would seek permission to be allowed to attend meetings of the PDP Governors Forum. He must also get clearance from Abuja before anyone could visit him in Port Harcourt. His wife was not even allowed to attend meeting of governors’ wives with the First Lady.

It is difficult to say if his positive feelings toward his abusers is a survival strategy to help reduce the threat of further harm, but the question is: what more harm – politically and psychologically – can be inflicted on him that will be worse than the kitchen sink thrown at him by Wike and his surrogates from the outset? But more importantly, must he answer a governor even when he knows that in real terms, he is not one because, truth be told, right now, the de facto governor of Rivers State is Nyesom Wike, even when Fubara, on paper, continues to parade himself as one.

Fubara is in government but Wike is in power, effectively in charge. For instance all the 23 local government chairmen, their deputies and 319 councillors in the state owe their allegiance to Wike. The 32 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are beholden to him. In Fubara’s second coming, he will not be given the privilege of appointing any state official, not even his personal staff, not to talk of commissioners. And whatever Appropriation Bill he presents to the Assembly will be vetted by the strongman in Abuja. In any case, Fubara has also reportedly signed off on an agreement that forbids him from seeking reelection in 2027.

So, he is a man to be pitied, a man whose understanding of what peace entails is fundamentally flawed. In throwing all well-meaning people of Rivers under the grinding wheels of Wike’s locomotive engine, Fubara said peace has returned to the state. The biggest disservice he is doing not only to the state but the entire country is that he is destroying, by his acquiescence and puerile interpretation of peace, the constitutional significance of the office of governor.

But while it may be right to say that all this has happened because Fubara is a creation of Wike, the question is: how do Rivers people ensure that come 2027, the man who will emerge governor will be a creation of their collective electoral will?

PRESS RELEASE

FG UNVEILS OFFICIAL THEME FOR 2025 INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY

… World Press Conference Holds on Monday, 29th September

The Federal Government has unveiled the official theme for the 2025 Independence Anniversary, tagged: Nigeria @ 65: All Hands on Deck for a Greater Nation.

The theme for Nigeria at 65 underscores the need for unity, collaboration and patriotism among the public sector, private sector, civil society, and the citizenry towards building a nation characterised by sustainable peace, prosperity and progress.

Since achieving independence on October 1, 1960, the nation has successfully navigated difficulties and achieved notable advancements in diverse economic sectors. This necessitates collective efforts to solidify these gains and pursue loftier objectives, aiming to forge a powerful nation for all citizens.

It is expected that Government activities and programmes are to align with the official theme to ensure the message resonates in all areas of our collective national endeavours in the actualisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

As part of activities to mark the 65th Independence Anniversary, the Juma’at Prayer and the Inter-Denominational Church Service will hold on Friday, 26th September at 1 pm and Sunday, 28th September at 10 am respectively, as well as the World Press Conference on Monday, 29th September at 10 am.

Segun Imohiosen
Director, Information & Public Relations
24th September, 2025

Tinubu Directs INEC Chairman Yakubu To Immediately Proceed On Leave For ‘Betraying APC,’ Set To Nominate Successor

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly directed the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to proceed on leave ahead of the expiration of his tenure.

Insider sources say the move comes in response to what they described as Mahmood’s “last-minute betrayal” of the All Progressives Congress government that appointed him.

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma reportedly met with President Tinubu shortly after the president returned from a 12-day working vacation, alleging that Mahmood’s efforts to register new political parties at the end of his tenure had disrupted Tinubu’s preparations for a second term.

The governor also claimed that Mahmood was covertly backing a candidate in the Imo State governorship election.

Following this briefing, Tinubu reportedly requested that Mahmood suspend all official duties and proceed on terminal leave.

The decision has thrown the commission’s schedule into disarray, leading to the abrupt cancellation of Mahmood’s final quarterly consultative meeting with political parties, as well as a planned session with civil society organisations.

Tinubu is now expected to submit the name of a new INEC Chairman to the National Assembly in the coming days.

Mahmood was appointed to office by then-President Muhammadu Buhari on October 21, 2015, succeeding acting chairperson, Amina Zakari.

In March, SaharaReporters reported that a prominent politician from Oghara, Delta State, was actively pushing for a compromised figure to become the next INEC chairman, setting the stage for widespread electoral fraud.

Sources close to the matter implicated former Delta State Governor James Ibori, a convicted ex-governor who returned to Nigeria after serving a sentence in the United Kingdom for looting public funds.

It was learnt that Ibori was maneuvering to position his associate and kinsman, Moses Ogbe, as the next INEC Chairman to ensure direct control over the rigging of the 2027 elections.

Ibori’s influence in the current political landscape remains significant. His past political manipulations include the appointment of his in-law, Chinedu Ebie, as Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Governing Board, and his daughter, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, as Chairperson of the House Committee on NDDC.

Moses Ogbe is a former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) under Prof. Maurice Iwu’s tenure.

Moses Ogbe’s Troubling Track Record

SaharaReporters’ investigation into Ogbe’s past reveals a deeply concerning history of electoral manipulation. Ogbe, once a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was nominated by Ibori for a REC position during a period marked by widespread election rigging.

He was allegedly part of a network of election manipulators working closely with Prof. Iwu, notorious for overseeing Nigeria’s deeply flawed 2007 general election, an election so discredited that then-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua admitted its failures and initiated electoral reforms.

Ogbe’s tenure as REC in Lagos State during the 2003 elections reportedly saw significant electoral malpractices under the administration of then-Governor Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu has a habit of surrounding himself with individuals he has previously worked with or known, as he advances politically.

For example, in 1999, the current Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, served as Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer, holding the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police at the time. At the time, Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State.

Earlier in September, INEC officially recognised former Senate President, Senator David Mark, as National Chairman and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), bringing to an end to months of internal wrangling over the party’s leadership.

The electoral body also confirmed Dr. Mani Ibrahim as National Treasurer, alongside Akibu Dalhatu and Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, who now serve as National Financial Secretary and National Legal Adviser, respectively.

SaharaReporters confirmed that the names of the newly recognised ADC leaders had been uploaded to the Commission’s official website.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi) on Tuesday gained access to her office at the Senate wing of the National Assembly, vowing not to apologize for what she described as her resistance to injustice.

She spoke with journalists shortly after her office was unsealed by an official of the Sergeant-at-Arms. The federal lawmaker, however, noted that she would keep further comments reserved for now, as some issues were still pending.

“I am going to be quite limited with what I’ll say. In the weeks to come, I will have much to say,” she told reporters.

According to her, she had not been officially communicated on conditions attached to her resumption. She said her concern stemmed from reports suggesting that a motion may be raised calling on her to tender an apology.

“So, I am actually worried as to what apology they expect from me. You can’t apologize for an injustice,” she said.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan maintained that her suspension was unjust and insisted she would not apologize as a precondition for resuming her legislative duties.

Reflecting on her recent experiences, she said she and her supporters had endured many challenges during the period of her suspension but expressed gratitude to the people of Kogi Central, her family, and her colleagues who stood by her.

“In everything, it just shows that sometimes it’s good to put the institutions to test. We can’t be cowed in the face of injustice. No one is more Nigerian than us,” she said.

She further urged Nigerians not to give up on the country despite its challenges, expressing confidence that there was “light at the end of the tunnel.”

saintopus:
Miracles happened everyday. Does he need to have classmates according to Wike lovers.
If the boy is announced to be a medical doctor, the followers of the FCT minister will still believe

The Presidency has dismissed claims by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is seeking to make himself a “life president,” insisting that the President has no plan to remain in office beyond 2031 if re-elected.

El-Rufai, speaking over the weekend, had urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to rally Nigerians against President Tinubu in 2027, alleging that the current administration is centralising power instead of devolving it to the lower levels.

“If we don’t come together and end this Tinubu administration by 2027, Tinubu will try to be our Paul Biya, to be president for life. All the signs are there, this is how Paul Biya started,” El-Rufai said.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, described El-Rufai’s remarks as “unfounded claims and speculations.”

He said, “It is increasingly evident that El-Rufai has recognised the futility of attempts by his associates in his new party to prevent President Tinubu’s likely re-election in 2027. This plot is proving to be unattainable, a mission doomed to fail.”

Onanuga noted that President Tinubu’s popularity remains strong, especially in the North, citing the reception he received in Kaduna last Friday.

According to Onanuga, El-Rufai “resorted to spreading further unfounded stories, including the claim that President Tinubu intends to become a ‘life president’ because of Tinubu’s reception in the Northwest state.

“This stands in stark contrast to El-Rufai’s narrative that the region has abandoned the President,” he said.

The Presidency further dismissed El-Rufai’s suggestion of a plan for tenure elongation as “baseless and absurd.”


Onanuga stressed, “President Tinubu is a democrat who does not intend to stay in office beyond May 28, 2031, when re-elected in 2027.”

He added that Governor Uba Sani might need to reach out to his predecessor, as “El-Rufai could benefit from some professional counselling to steer him away from his recent hallucinations and political fabrications on Tinubu and 2027.”

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has said that the much celebrated economic stability under President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) is a ruse.

He stated that the report that inflation has dropped to 20.7 percent, which the government had been celebrating, is actually a slap on Nigerians because all across Africa, the inflation rate does not exceed five percent.

He cited countries like Benin Republic with less than two percent inflation figure, Senegal with less than three percent, Tanzania at 3.3 percent as well as South Africa and Morocco with less than five percent inflation figures respectively among other African countries, stressing that Nigeria needs to come down to about seven percent before anybody can talk about economic recovery.

He, however, agreed that the situation is slightly better than what it was last year but comparing it with what obtains in other African countries, Nigeria still has a long way to go.

“In a way, the economy, in terms of these numbers, is not worse now than it was last year. It’s slightly better but far, far away from where it ought to be. And if you look at the inflation numbers across some regions for example, I don’t want to sound like I’m mentioning America, as they’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s a different place,’ we are the fourth highest in inflation. Benin Republic, next to us, has inflation barely above one percent. If you go around the ECOWAS countries, the countries that use CFA, the highest is Senegal because of its high borrowing.

“But all the countries around us are at two percent and 2.7 percent. Even Tanzania, whose economy is beginning to resemble ours in some ways, if you look at the exchange rate and other factors, Tanzania is barely 3.3 percent in inflation. So, there is no major country, South Africa, our competitor, Morocco, none of them is up to five percent in inflation.

“We are still at 20.7 percent. So, we need to get as low as seven percent before we start to look at recovery from the point of view of inflation. It’s a good number, a better number than before, but it’s not a number that’s going to take you to the Promised Land,”


He called on the Federal Government to focus more on the real economy, by developing infrastructure and creating employment. He made reference to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) report to drive home his point.

He said: “If you study the IMF reports, despite all the numbers they’re juggling, there’s a report where they concluded that Nigeria’s inflation has been driven by poor infrastructure.

“So, if we improve infrastructure, transport costs will be cheaper, which will impact food, productivity, and the disposable income left for people, and that will also cushion the effect of the poverty of wages we have in the country. So, the country needs to look at infrastructure and agriculture.”y they don’t need in fear that it might rise,” he stated.

Responding to recent comment by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara that President Tinubu inherited a dead economy, he said: “I commend Dogara for speaking adequately for his party and his people, but I think we should be more realistic in terms of the real economy to grow employment, agriculture and infrastructure. That requires time and consistency.”

As the tenure of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, ends next month, the question of who will replace him is increasingly becoming of interest to Nigerians, Weekend Trust reports.

Yakubu was first appointed as the electoral body’s chairman in 2015 and reappointed for another term in 2020, giving him the record of the longest-serving INEC chairman in Nigeria’s history.

Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that “the appointment of the chairman and members of the Independent National Electoral Commission shall be made by the president and shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.”

Paragraph 14 of Part I of the Third Schedule further stipulates that the appointee must be a person “of unquestionable integrity” and not less than 50 years of age.

Though President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is said to be keeping his choice close to his chest, sources said he was advised to review and reconsider options thereby increasing the number of those to be screened for the position.

According to sources, the president initially preferred a particular candidate from the South West before several factors came into play that left the Presidency with no choice but to include others from other geo-political zones.

Weekend Trust learnt that the issue of the zone the next INEC chairman would come from became sensitive, given the allegations that many appointments by the president had favoured the South West, where he hails from.

Probable nominees

Those being considered for the chairmanship of the INEC, according to sources, include Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman of the Court of Appeal; a retired professor at the University of Lagos and former INEC’s National Commissioner, Lai Olurode; a former director of procurement of INEC, Kenneth Ukeagu, the current INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun and Professor Bashiru Olamilekan.

Three of those being touted for the job are from the South West and one each from the South East and North Central.

Since the establishment of a uniform electoral body for the country, only the South West and the North Central have not produced INEC chairman.

Abdullahi Mohammed Liman

Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman was born on February 11, 1959 and became a lawyer in 1984.

He is currently a serving Justice of the Court of Appeal. Though there has been no official confirmation, his name has been repeatedly mentioned in discussions about potential replacements.

He hails from Nasarawa State where he started his law practice before moving to Abuja, from where he was appointed a judge at the age of 42 on the 27th of July, 2000.

Justice Liman has been associated with a number of high-profile and controversial cases. Daily Trust had in 2024 chronicled at least seven such cases, including his ruling that temporarily restrained the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano, and his order halting the suspension and arrest moves against former Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Bashiru Olamilekan

Early in the year, it was speculated that Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan was appointed to replace Prof. Mahmood Yakubu but the turned out not to be true. He is believed to be one of those earlier considered for the job.

Sam Olumekun

Sam Olumekun is a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and serves as chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee. A public administrator from Ondo State, Olumekun has held several key positions in both the civil service and the electoral body.

He was Permanent Secretary, Government House and Protocol in Ondo State before moving to the INEC where he served as Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Edo State from 2014 to 2017 and later in Lagos State from 2017 until the end of his tenure in 2020.

In these roles, he supervised election management and electoral processes in these areas.

Lai Olurode

Professor Lai Olurode, born on November 2, 1952 in Iwo, Osun State, is a sociologist, academic and public intellectual. A 1979 first-class graduate of Sociology from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Lagos State, where also obtained his Master’s degree in Sociology, Olurode later bagged a doctorate degree at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, in 1984. He also studied Law at the UNILAG where he obtained LL.B in 1990. He was called to the Bar in 1991.

Olurode, who joined the UNILAG in 1980, rose through the ranks to become a professor of Sociology in 2000. He served as Head of Department and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Olurode was appointed by as National Commissioner of the INEC on June 30, 2010, overseeing Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti States.

His research interests span political sociology, gender, inequality, and democratization in Africa. He has authored numerous books and articles, presented globally, and is a respected public commentator on governance and social change.

After over 40 years of teaching, Olurode retired from the UNILAG, delivering a valedictory lecture titled Knowledge Sector, Public Interest and Power Structure’ in 2023.

Kenneth Ukeagu

In his 50s, Kenneth Ukeagu is a former director of procurement at the INEC.

A sociologist, he hails from from Abia state and has worked for over three decades at the INEC.

He was appointed national commissioner by President Muhammadu Buhari in what is described as the first that a serving or even retired staff of the Commission will be so appointed.

While no law bars the president from appointing an INEC chairman from his zone, sources said the Presidency may consider someone outside of the South West for the position to ward off allegations of tribalism.

“You know this (INEC chairmanship) is a sensitive position because it has to do with an election that the president would be participating in. He is required to be seen as neutral and anything that would portray him as having undue advantage would be frowned at.

“So, if he goes ahead and brings someone from his zone, it would heighten suspicion and give the opposition the chance to accuse the electoral body of bias or favouritism,” one of the sources stated.

Weekend Trust notes that since the First Republic, no sitting president has appointed someone from his geopolitical zone as INEC chairman; except for the brief period Amina Bala Zakari from Jigawa State, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, acted as chairman when Professor Attahiru Jega resigned and before Professor Yakubu was appointed.

A breakdown of past INEC chairmanship appointments showed that the administrations of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa had Eyo Ita Isua (South-South); former President Shehu Shagari, Michael Ani (South-East) and Victor Ovie Whisky (South-South); former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ephraim Akpata (South-South); Abel Guobadia (South-South) and Maurice Iwu (South East)

Former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Professor Attahiru Jega (North West); while Buhari appointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu (North East).

If Tinubu appoints someone from the South West, it would be the first time that a substantive INEC chairman would come from the president’s geopolitical zone.

Meanwhile, some opposition elements have started raising concerns over who will be the next INEC chairman. For instance, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Alhaji Buba Galadima, in a recent interview, warned that Nigeria could face civil unrest if the federal government appoints a certain Court of Appeal judge as INEC chairman.

A political activist, Timi Frank, has also cautioned that only a person of proven integrity should be considered for the position.

Justice Liman, one of those being touted for the position, has been associated with a number of high-profile cases, including his ruling that temporarily restrained the reinstatement of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano and his order halting the suspension and arrest moves against former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Some people have also argued that allowing the president to continue appointing INEC chairmen undermines public confidence in the commission. According to them, for Nigeria to achieve truly free and fair elections, reforms are necessary to insulate the INEC from executive influence.

Analysts weigh in

Beyond zoning and professional background, analysts, who spoke to Weekend Trust, said priority should be on ensuring credibility, neutrality and independence of Nigeria’s electoral umpire.

A political analyst, Prof. Kamilu Sani Fage, said the position of INEC chairman is expected to be politically neutral.

He alleged that lobbying and political interests were already shaping the search.

“The position of INEC chairman is similar to that of a judge who is supposed to be politically neutral, nonpartisan. In fact, that is what our electoral laws state; that not even the chairman, but even members like resident commissioners, are supposed to be nonpartisan,” he said.

Fage noted that sectional and religious considerations will also come to the fore in the search for Yakubu’s successor.

“We are going to see another problem; that is the issue of sectionalism, whether he is going to come from the North or from the South. That will dominate the debate about where the person is supposed to come from. And also, the issue of religion will come out. These are some of the things that are going to surely feature prominently in the search for the next INEC chairman,” he said.

Fage stressed that the appointment remains a prerogative of the president, especially as politicians are already focused on the 2027 general elections.

The national president of the Nigeria Political Science Association, Professor Hassan Saliu, said Nigerians should not expect a miracle.

He said, “Given the political environment, the new man can only try and we should not expect any miracle from him. We cannot be electing something on nothing.”

Peterobiisathie:
it is not a crime to call a spade a spade
They are majorly the cause of our problems today