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Yakubu, lackey of vested interests – Atiku *Says, INEC boss in Tinubu’s pocket
Everything that has played out in the 2023 general elections that made it the worst in Nigeria’s history is because Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which conducted it decided to make himself a willing tool in the hands of vested interests in the country.
Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who said this on Monday, echoed the position of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who revealed on Saturday in Port Harcourt, that the INEC boss was out to serve the interest of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, who nominated him to serve for second term in office. Amaechi, told reporters after casting his vote at his Ubima community in Rivers State that Nigerians should know that apart from being nominated by the camp of Tinubu, who was announced the winner of the February 25 presidential election, in which Atiku came second, the INEC Chairman was equally beholden to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, under whom as former Minister Minister of State for Education, he (Yakubu), served as Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“INEC is a complete failure. There are those of us who opposed the reappointment of Yakubu Mahmood. The person who nominated him is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting? Here in Rivers State, Mahmood worked under Wike as Executive Secretary of TETFund. So, what you are having in Rivers is that APC and other parties are contesting, not against PDP, but against INEC, against police,” Amaechi, had told his audience.
Echoing the same position, Atiku, who spoke via his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu said: “Former Governor Amaechi’s revelation is only a confirmation of what everyone always knew. That INEC under the leadership of Prof. Yakubu is inside the deepest corner of Bola Tinubu’s pocket.
“This is a confirmation of our earlier statement that Tinubu had already embarked on a systematic state capture where the police, INEC, and the judiciary are in his pocket. Is it not surprising that the AIG who was deployed in Rivers State to supervise the governorship and Presidential elections is Kayode Egbetokun, a known ally of Tinubu who also served as Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer while he was governor of Lagos?
“This unholy alliance between INEC and the police is the reason why the election in Rivers State remains one of the most rigged in the history of Nigeria. Indeed, the journey to state capture has begun.
“This explains why, after promising Nigerians that he would upload election results from polling units, he changed his mind at the last minute and then blamed it on glitches. Truth be told, Yakubu was the only glitch because of his incestuous affair with Tinubu’s APC. His predecessor, Prof. Attahiru Jega conducted two credible presidential elections in 2011 and 2015. The 2015 election was so credible that it witnessed the lowest number of election petitions and court disputes. Rather than improve on this, Prof Yakubu put his personal interest far and above that of over 200 million Nigerians. He claimed before the election at Chatham House that the electoral system he put in place was so advanced that the human body odour could be used for voter accreditation if he wanted. But this was all part of his grand deception.
“Despite receiving higher allocations than any other INEC chairman in history, Prof Yakubu could not conduct a credible election. This is indeed shameful for a man who over 200 million Nigerians saw as their last hope.”
Shaibu said the exposè by online platform, Peoples Gazette, on the eve of the presidential election that INEC had been compromised by Tinubu, has shown to be true after all, adding that it was also disheartening that INEC chairman continued to award sensitive election contracts to APC candidates.
“A top consultant of INEC was caught on tape revealing that Tinubu would offer $170 million to the commission’s officials to manipulate the results of the presidential elections across Nigeria. In the same election season, INEC awarded sensitive contracts to companies owned by Senator Sani Musa of APC and Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani, the APC governorship candidate in Adamawa. It is indeed safe to say that Nigeria’s democracy has been sold to the APC by Prof. Yakubu.”
Abubakar Rabe, retired Major General former spokesman of the Nigerian Army who was abducted by bandits in Katsina State exactly two weeks ago, has died in captivity, reports coming from the state, one of the hotbeds of terrorist activities in Nigeria, confirmed on Saturday.
The retired senior military officer was kidnapped alongside his wife around the Matazu area of Katsina State while traveling to attend a wedding ceremony, was said to have died of complications from diabetes and high blood pressure in the camp of his abductors.
Nasiru Mu’azu, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, in the state, who confirmed the incident, in a statement, said the government received the news with heavy heart and deep sense of loss.
He wrote: “It is with profound sadness that we confirm the General’s death while in bandits captivity. Despite the relentless and concerted efforts of the State Government and various Security Agencies to secure his safe release, the situation ended in this tragedy.
“The deceased Retired General died a natural death from complications of diabetes and hypertension. His abduction and subsequent death are not only a loss to his family and Katsina State but a monumental loss to the entire country.
“His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Katsina State Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, CON, extends his deepest condolences to the family of the late General and the country at-large.
“The Governor has described this incident as a “dark moment” and a reminder of the urgent need for a collective and intensified front against the criminal elements threatening the peace of our communities.
“The Katsina State Government remains committed to working with the Federal Government and security forces to ensure that those responsible for this heinous act are brought to justice. We assure the citizens of Katsina State that our resolve to eliminate banditry and ensure the safety of all residents remains unshaken.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family during this difficult time. May the soul of the departed Retired Major General Rabe Abdulakdir rest in eternal peace.”
By Hon Eseme Eyiboh mnipr
When Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio assumed office as President of Nigeria’s 10th Senate in June 2023, expectations were understandably high. Nigeria was grappling with economic headwinds, persistent security challenges, and growing public demand for more responsive and effective democratic institutions. In such a climate, the National Assembly was expected not merely to make laws, but to provide leadership, strengthen oversight, and restore public confidence in governance.
Three years into his tenure, the Senate under Akpabio has increasingly sought to position itself as a stable, proactive, and policy-driven legislative institution. Through a combination of legislative initiatives, institutional reforms, parliamentary diplomacy, and engagement with critical national issues, the Senate has played a visible role in shaping the country’s governance landscape. While critics have raised concerns on certain matters—an inevitable feature of democratic leadership—the overall record presents a legislature that has remained active, cohesive, and focused on its constitutional responsibilities during a period of significant national transition.
The foremost responsibility of any legislature is lawmaking, and in this regard, the 10th Senate has maintained an ambitious legislative agenda. Hundreds of bills have been introduced and processed, many of them directly targeting Nigeria’s pressing economic, fiscal, and governance challenges. According to Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, in a midterm scorecard released in June 2025, the upper chamber introduced 983 bills and passed 108 into law between June 2023 and June 2025. This included 83 bills passed in the 2024/2025 legislative year alone, compared to 25 bills in the 9th Senate in the same period. Official legislative records also indicate a significant rise in legislative activity compared to previous assemblies, suggesting that the 10th Senate has been notably active by legislative output metrics.
More significant than the volume of legislation, however, has been the Senate’s focus on measures with far-reaching national implications. The emphasis has not been on legislative activity for its own sake, but on advancing reforms designed to address some of Nigeria’s most pressing economic and governance challenges. The Senate has prioritised reforms aimed at stimulating economic growth, improving public finance management, strengthening institutions, and expanding social protection.
One of the defining legislative undertakings of the 10th Senate has been its commitment to tax reform and fiscal modernization. Nigeria’s tax system has long been criticised for fragmentation, multiple taxation, weak compliance, and excessive dependence on oil revenue. Under Akpabio’s leadership, the Senate pursued reforms aimed at simplifying tax administration, broadening the tax base, promoting digital compliance, and providing greater relief for small businesses and low-income earners. In May 2025, the Senate passed four major tax reform bills which, according to the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms and now Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, could increase Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio from about 10 per cent in 2023 to approximately 18 per cent by the end of 2027.
These reforms are significant because Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains among the lowest in Africa, limiting government revenue and public investment capacity. By supporting measures aimed at modernising tax collection and reducing leakages, the Senate sought to create a more sustainable fiscal framework capable of supporting infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social services.
Beyond fiscal reforms, the Senate has devoted significant legislative attention to education, regional development, agriculture, energy, and the digital economy. Bills relating to tertiary education, regional development etc commissions, agricultural growth, and public sector modernization have featured prominently on its agenda. Notable examples include the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, which reportedly facilitated over one million applications through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, and the Electricity Act (Amendment) 2023, which expanded the role of states and private investors in electricity generation and distribution.
To strengthen the country’s electoral process, the Senate also pursued amendments to the Electoral Act aimed at improving internal party democracy and clarifying procedures around party primaries and consensus candidacies. Supporters of the reforms argue that clearer legal definitions and procedural safeguards could help reduce arbitrary candidate selection and strengthen transparency within political parties. Senate Leader Bamidele has also indicated that additional reforms, including possible provisions for diaspora voting and early voting for security personnel, remain priorities for the remaining legislative period.
Beyond lawmaking, one of the less visible but significant developments of the 10th Senate has been institutional stability. Historically, Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber has often been characterised by prolonged leadership disputes, partisan confrontations, and disruptions capable of slowing governance processes. Under Akpabio’s leadership, however, the Senate has largely maintained operational cohesion and stability.
Plenary debates have generally remained issue-focused rather than personality-driven, while contentious national matters have often been managed through consultation and negotiation. This atmosphere of relative stability has reduced legislative deadlocks and allowed committees to function with greater consistency.
The Senate President’s leadership style has leaned heavily toward consultation and consensus-building. In a politically diverse chamber comprising members of the APC, PDP, Labour Party, NNPP, SDP, and other minority parties, Akpabio has consistently emphasized bipartisan cooperation over rigid partisanship. Committee appointments, major motions, and sensitive legislative debates have reflected efforts to accommodate competing interests while preserving institutional cohesion.
As a result, the 10th Senate has witnessed substantial cross-party cooperation on key national issues, even though disagreements naturally remain part of democratic governance.
Another area in which the Senate has demonstrated effectiveness is budgetary coordination. For three consecutive fiscal years, the National Assembly passed the national budget before the start of the new financial year. The 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion, for instance, was approved on December 30, 2023, ahead of the fiscal cycle. The Senate also passed the 2024 and 2025 appropriations totalling N43.5 trillion, although implementation timelines for some projects were subsequently extended to facilitate completion.
This marked a departure from previous cycles characterised by delayed budget approvals and implementation uncertainty. Timely budget passage improves predictability for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, enhances investor confidence, allows contractors to plan more effectively, and supports smoother execution of government projects. In a developing economy like Nigeria, where public expenditure plays a major role in economic activity, budget stability remains important to growth and development.
At the same time, the Senate has continued to discharge its constitutional oversight responsibilities through investigative hearings, committee reviews, and ministerial screenings. During periods of persistent fuel scarcity, the Senate leadership engaged key stakeholders in the petroleum sector, including an oversight visit to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Supporters contend that the intervention helped keep national attention focused on domestic refining capacity and crude supply arrangements.
Subsequent Federal Government measures, including support for naira-denominated crude transactions, were widely viewed as part of a broader effort to ease supply constraints and calm the downstream market. Today, the long fuel queues that once defined daily life have receded considerably, although deeper challenges in the energy sector remain.
On the international stage, the Senate under Akpabio has strengthened parliamentary diplomacy, carrying Nigeria’s voice into global conversations on democracy, development, security, and international cooperation. Nigeria has assumed a more visible role within the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), contributing to debates on democratic governance, collective security, climate resilience, and legislative best practices. Through these engagements, the Senate has sought not only to advance Nigeria’s interests but also to position the country as a constructive participant in addressing shared global challenges.
A notable diplomatic milestone was Nigeria’s election into the IPU Executive Committee for the first time in decades, a development widely interpreted as recognition of the country’s renewed parliamentary engagement within international legislative circles. Akpabio was also designated to serve on the Preparatory Committee for the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in 2024.
Domestically, one of the Senate’s most consequential constitutional moments came in August 2023 during the crisis in the Niger Republic following the military coup. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, acting as Chairman of ECOWAS, sought legislative backing for possible regional intervention, the Senate urged restraint and prioritized diplomatic engagement over immediate military action. Widely viewed as a demonstration of legislative independence and respect for the principle of separation of powers, the decision reaffirmed the Senate’s constitutional role in matters of security and foreign policy while underscoring a preference for dialogue, diplomacy, and regional stability at a moment of heightened tension across West Africa.
No balanced assessment of the 10th Senate can entirely overlook concerns raised by critics and observers. Questions have occasionally been raised regarding the depth of scrutiny applied during the confirmation of some executive nominees, while certain oversight investigations produced outcomes that critics considered less robust than expected.
In broader terms, the 10th Senate has combined increased legislative activity with relative political stability while attempting to align its priorities with Nigeria’s economic and governance realities. Supporters point to the passage of the National Minimum Wage Amendment Act, the Investments and Securities Act, and multiple regional development commission bills as examples of substantive legislation with potentially long-term national impact.
With one legislative year remaining before the next election cycle begins to dominate political discourse, the principal test facing the 10th Senate may ultimately be one of implementation and public confidence. If the tax reforms strengthen revenue generation, if the student loan programme continues to expand educational access without major controversy, and if the Senate further enhances oversight transparency, the chamber may secure a more enduring institutional legacy. Conversely, if concerns about public perception and executive accommodation persist, critics may continue to question whether legislative productivity has translated into sufficient institutional independence. It is worth noting, however, that history suggests the most successful periods of national development have often occurred not during eras of executive-legislative confrontation, but when both arms of government cooperated effectively while remaining faithful to their distinct constitutional responsibilities.
If the reforms advanced by the Senate continue to produce measurable national impact, and if the institution successfully addresses concerns relating to oversight and accountability, history may ultimately remember the 10th Senate not merely as a productive legislature, but as one that contributed to stabilising governance and repositioning democratic institutions during a consequential period in Nigeria’s development.
* Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh mnipr is a former member and Spokesperson in the House of Representatives and currently, the Special Adviser on Media/ Publicity and Official Spokesperson to the President of the 10th Senate.
For those believing that President Bola Tinubu’s exclusion of Humphrey Nwosu, the late Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), was an error that would be corrected subsequently, their expectation came to naught on Friday, with his non-recognition once again.
In a surprise outing, the President failed once again to name the late Professor of Political Science as one of the Nigerians honoured, on the day Nigerians would be celebrating this year’s anniversary of June 12, designed to mark the historic 1993 presidential election, which has now been designated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
It was a day Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO), the candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), was elected President in a transition programme undertaken by the military government of then President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB).
Expectations are that because the Option A4 model used in achieving the outcome of the election, acknowledged as the freest and fairest election in Nigerian history, the late electoral commission’s boss, would feature prominently in the list of those to be honoured by the government.
But another list contained in the national broadcast by the President, suggested that the position of the treatment meted to the former NEC Chairman, reflected the thinking in the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu’s predecessor, under whom June 12 was given national recognition.
The list, populated mainly by names from the South West, which included both civilians and military personnel, did not capture the category of national honours to be bestowed on the recipients, as the government said further information would be released in due course.
Prominent among those recognized, was Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, a General and former Chief of Army Staff, Supreme Headquarters between 1976 and 1979, under the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, who died in Abakaliki Prison in 1997, where he was detained for allegedly participation in carrying out a coup against Sani Abacha, then Head of State.
Tinubu, said the completed Institute of Petroleum Studies, Kaduna, would now be known as General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua University of Geological Sciences and Engineering Technology, to honour the General, who later became a prominent figure in Nigerian politics, “for his vision of national partnership.”
Listing the other names, Tinubu said: “I am also pleased to announce national awards to the following Nigerians, who suffered persecution, endured indignities, exile, incarceration, and, at times, solitary confinement, so that we have democracy today.”
The recipients included: Ayoka Lawani, Tunde Fagbenle, Oladele Alake, Olatunji Bello, Louis Odion, Segun Babatope, Sam Omatseye, Ademola Osinubi, Bola Bolawole and the duo of Lade Bonuola, former Managing Director of The Guardian and Femi Kusa, former Editor of the Nigerian foremost newspaper.
Others, were: Debo Adeniran, Ayo Opadokun, Chief Ralph Obiora, Ose Osayande, Osa Director, Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, Arthur Nwankwo (Posthumous) and Osagie Obayuwana, all pro-democracy activists.
The list also included Joe Okei-Odumakin , Titus Mann, Joe Igbokwe, Richard Akinnola, Ben Charles-Obi (Posthumous), George Mbah Niran Malaolu, Ishola Williams, a retired Major-General, Femi Aborisade, Jenkins Alumona, Gbemiga Ogunleye, Muyiwa Adekeye, Babajide Kolade-Otitoju and Ike Okonta.
“We also recognise the soldier-democrats of the June 12 struggle: Major General MA Garba, Brigadier General Lawal Jaafaru Isa, Col Umar Farouk Ahmed; Col Sambo Dasuki;
Col Lawan Gwadabe; Brigadier Jonathan Ndam Temlong, Col Musa Shehu; Major General Chris Eze; Major General Harris Dzarma; Col Isa Jibrin; Maj. General Joseph Oshanupin; Col Olusegun Oloruntoba, Olugbede of Gbede Kingdom), Lieutenant Colonel Happy Kefas Bulus, Col J Okai;
Col Emmanuel Ndubueze; Lt Col Yakubu Muazu and Brigadier Yahaya Abubakar, the Current Etsu Nupe, who is already the holder of the CFR title.”
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