Mike Igini Speaks On INEC & X Account Controversy + More — Politics Today

[0:32] been charged to court today and has been charged for treason into a shuffle and mr tawai to take [0:51] over as minister of finance and treason charges have been leveled against who plauders everyone [1:15] thanks so much for watching this is politics today live on channels television i'm shown [1:21] right here for you in our studio there's so much to talk about tonight everyone on the program but [1:29] before we get into all of the details so much is happening today and judgments political party [1:37] leadership issues on the table elections are there hynek is coming out to talk about the alleged [1:44] partisanship and a lot of issues are on the front banner so we're going to take it one after the [1:50] other tonight but before we get into all of these issues let's start with you with some of your [1:54] political round-up stories justice darius coble of the kaduna state headquarters adjourned the hearing [2:08] of a bill application filed by former governor of the state mr nasser arrow fly in the first week [2:13] of june 2026 the former governor's standing trial for an alleged financial crime and abuse of office [2:19] by the independent corrupt practices and other related offenses commission counsel to the defendant [2:25] had filed an application requesting the courts to grant him bail arguing that mr arrow five poses [2:30] no flight risk and is willing to comply with any conditions imposed by the court to grant him bail [2:35] however the prosecuting counsel objected by arguing that the former governor could interfere with the [2:40] ongoing investigations if granted bail members of the accord party loyal to professor chris emu molen [2:46] are protesting at the any headquarters asking the electoral umpire to recognize professor chris as the [2:52] authentic chairman of the party the demonstrators are claiming that they have a court order to that [2:57] effect and are questioning why inek chose not to obey the court order professor chris emu molen and [3:03] barrister maxwell mbudem had been laying claims to the chairmanship of the party and even held separate [3:08] primaries that produced two governorship candidates for the forthcoming austrian state governorship election [3:13] the lawmaker representing niger east senatorial district senator sani musa has dismissed rumors of internal [3:20] crisis within the office of congress in niger state affirming that the party remains united and focused [3:25] ahead of the 2027 general elections speaking at the stakeholders meeting in minna the united state [3:30] capital senator musa is optimistic that the party is on schedule to conduct primaries as slated by the [3:36] independent national electoral commission in the state chairman of the senate committee on southeast [3:41] development commission senator odry zocalo has rejected allegations that ruling of progress's congress [3:46] is interfering with imec insisting that the electoral body remains independent and deserves public [3:52] confidence speaking with senate correspondents before an abridged plenary today the former senate chief [3:58] whip described the claims by the opposition adc and others as frivolous and damaging to nigeria's [4:05] democratic image the social democratic party says it's begun preparations for its forthcoming national [4:10] convention with the inauguration of a committee to oversee the process national chairman of the party [4:15] professor sadiq gumbay stated this after participating in the ongoing annual inspection and verification [4:21] exercise conducted by the independent national electric commission in abuja professor gumbay says the [4:26] committee would coordinate activities leading to the convention nominations and other party programs [4:33] in gumbay state political stakeholders in the state central senatorial district are divided ahead of [4:38] the 2027 elections as groups from a call local government area take contrasting positions over who should [4:44] represent the district while some are calling for a past shift to yamal to deba in the interest of equity [4:50] others are supporting the continuity of the current lawmaker representing the zone senator danji maguji [4:56] citing experience and political stability at the gumbay government house a high-level delegation from [5:02] akko local government area including traditional rulers lawmakers and party leaders pay a visit to [5:07] governor inuwa yahaya as they commend his administration for key projects including the federal medical center in [5:13] kumo and road infrastructure they call for rotation of the senatorial seat to yamal to deba explaining that [5:20] akko has held the seat since 2011. thank you so much there you have that you've been served with your [5:35] political roundup stories so president balatonobu struck today removing one of his long-standing ally [5:44] minister of finance and coordinated minister mr wali adun has been asked to hand over following a minor [5:51] cabinet reshuffle approved by president balatonobu according to a memo signed by the secretary to the [5:57] government of the federation mr george akuma mr edun and the minister of housing and urban development [6:03] akhmad musudanguwa are to leave the federal executive council fact with their replacements already named [6:11] mr edun has been re uh directed to hand over to mr taui edile who was previously minister of state for [6:18] finance and we now assume office as minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy similarly [6:25] mr hamid musudanguwa has been directed to hand over to mutaka rabbi dharma who is being named as [6:31] ministerial nominee and minister that's inmate for the ministry of housing and urban development [6:37] for that government says this is with immediate effect and we now know that uh coming out of the [6:49] courtrooms today in details of what has happened after a lot of people are asking what about the [6:56] alleged school plot the federal government has filed a 13-count charge before the federal high [7:02] court in abuja against six individuals including two retired senior military officers and a servant [7:09] police inspector over an alleged law to wage war against nigeria and commit acts of terrorism the [7:16] defendants retired major general muhammad ghana retired naval captain erasmus victor inspector [7:22] ahmed ibrahim zakari umaru burka goni and abu kodri sani uh shadow to be arraigned uh on wednesday [7:31] the 72nd of april that's tomorrow before justice joyce abdumalik was still listed in the charge but [7:39] said to be at large is the former minister of state for petroleum resources to me praise silver the charge [7:45] filed uh yesterday by the office of the attorney general of the federation and signed by the director [7:51] of public prosecutions mr roti miri the question advocate of nigeria is accusing the defendants of [7:58] offensive offenses raging from treason and terrorism to failure to disclose security intelligence and [8:06] money laundering linked to terrorism financing let's tell you about more stories coming from the courtroom [8:16] this time around about party leadership a three-member panel of the code of appeal sitting in abuja as this [8:23] means the appeal filed by mr julius aburre challenging the leadership of the labor party [8:29] justice peter lifu of the federal high court and on january 21 reaffirmed the earlier judgment of the [8:36] supreme court that removed mr aburre as the national chairman of the labor party and director the [8:42] imac to recognize senator nanado usman as a legitimate leader of the party to the exclusion of all others [8:50] and the satisfied with that judgment and decision of their court of appeal mr aburre has approached [8:55] the court of be seeking to overturn the judgment of the court and he says he doesn't agree with the [9:01] position of the court and we'll be pursuing these further perhaps to the higher court all right then [9:17] elections are here and there's a lot a lot to talk about in with respect to the election of 2027. [9:25] the electoral integrity issue is once again under intense scrutiny this time not just from opposition [9:32] voices or civil society but from within the very ecosystem of election management itself allegations [9:39] of partisanship against the leadership of the electoral commission are raising uncomfortable questions [9:45] about neutrality independence and institutional credibility at the same time internal crisis within [9:51] political parties continue to spill into the court blurring the lines between law and politics and [9:58] testing the resilience of nigeria's democracy with the 2027 general elections on the horizon concerns are [10:05] mounted is electoral body truly insulated from political pressure are the courts overstepping into political [10:12] territory and perhaps most critically can nigerians trust the process that will ultimately determine [10:19] leadership tonight we go beyond the headlines with one of the most outspoken voices on electoral [10:25] governance in nigeria a man who has been inside the system and understand his strength and his [10:31] vulnerabilities not only that he has served as a senior member of the independent national electoral [10:36] commission he's also a senior member of the nigerian bar a lawyer joining me now is mr mikey guinea a [10:44] former resident electoral commissioner in nigeria is widely respected for his firm stance on electoral [10:50] transparency and accountability mr guinea thank you so much for joining us tonight on the program thank [10:57] you for inviting me and a good evening nigerians thank you so much indeed let's begin with a very big [11:04] question has the electoral umpire become a player in the political arena i'm gonna get the question again [11:14] has the electoral umpire become a political player in the arena well um thank you very much the [11:29] independent national track commission or the emb of our country like any other is a creation of the [11:35] law under section 53 of the constitution and saddled the responsibility to meet the white democratic [11:45] election and so it is not expected by action or inaction to be said to be a member of a political [11:56] party of course um as some of us who have worked the commission for 10 years um beyond the current [12:09] issue that is going on about the current leadership or chairman some of us in the past have also been [12:16] accused of being wearing number 11 gc when i was in cross river states because i took a position in line [12:29] with the oath of office that i took in accordance with the duties of an umpire that's the institution of [12:42] democracy we have no hopeful future if we don't have an opposition and so creating a level playing field in [12:54] cross river was became a problem and i was accused of encouraging the cpc the acn and other parties to [13:09] challenge the ruling government in cross river as at that time so clearly uh beyond the serious issue [13:16] that have been raised with respect to the current leadership of the commission one of the things [13:24] that politicians always do is to call an umpire when if and when the faith will have their way that we [13:33] are working for opposition mr again i'm i'm not sure and correct me if i'm wrong and from the days of [13:44] maurice uh consciously covering elections in this country and there are those who will say uh perhaps [13:52] we've not seen the uh the uh the emb the election management body under this sort of intense scrutiny [14:01] and been accused of partisanship before a major election as we're saying to the extent of wearing a [14:09] known insignia or a cap known for a political party that would be candidate of a political party ruling [14:18] party saying that that is where the head of the electoral management body belongs and that he worked [14:25] with these it's it's a very intense period to have dragged the end the ana chairman into such a conversation [14:34] how devastating do you think this could be not only the integrity of the commission but the capacity [14:42] of the commission to be uh an unbiased umpire in this game well uh so it is very regrettable and most [14:52] unfortunate that uh we have found ourselves few months a year to election uh that the emb is under this type of [15:03] controversy uh you see perception matters a lot and public perception management index is very key [15:13] by those who are saddled with responsibility uh to conduct election i think that the commission i [15:22] should have been i'm not a spokesperson for the commission and i think that the commission leadership [15:28] should be able to address this issue because uh perception is very key uh to those who will conduct [15:38] election and i think that should be appropriately addressed by the leadership to clear all that because [15:48] it's expected that um all actions and inactions of an aamb official uh should be one that must be seen [15:57] to be above board and not be seen to uh exhibit the highest principle of ethical standards that is [16:08] what is required so that people can have faith and confidence in the process that the rules are both [16:17] being observed and enforced fully fairly and impartially let's look at the matter now i i spoke with the [16:28] uh president of the nba recently and he was warning about the role of the judiciary tomorrow there might [16:36] be a judgment about the leadership of the adc we saw a judgment about the leadership of the labor party [16:43] today and there are and you saw what is happening with accord party professor mulai and and the rest are [16:50] fighting it does look like opposition is in disarray but the judiciary seems to be playing a major role [16:58] there is a substantive uh court court judgment to the effect that court's role or jurisdiction [17:06] of the court should be limited in interfering or in adjudicating in party internal party affairs [17:14] but we're going into a major election and it does look at the role of the court will be very significant [17:19] in determining whether opposition's role is going to be stamped or to be wiped out what are your thoughts [17:26] you're a very senior member uh of the nigerian baha the lawyer in the country and you've served in [17:32] ayennec do you see a future for opposition parties in this coming election thank you uh show on this [17:44] very important question and i want to respond to this question by making reference to what alexis [17:53] the talk there a freshman who spent decades in america when he wrote a book title democracy in america he [18:04] said that the survival of the american democracy that the resilience of american democracy was [18:12] essentially because of the strength of the judiciary the handling with any issue we arise with respect to [18:21] the democracy the rule of law that the cops will not rise to do justice by calling justice by its name [18:30] its true name and not technicality this is because the first any victim of the survival of democracy [18:40] is usually the failure of the judiciary of the courts to stand tall and mighty in defense of [18:50] the rule of law the rule of law without the rule of law the institution of democracy have no hopeful future [18:58] in our country and this has been the bearing of our country because so the bullets are usually [19:08] kill an elephant is not as big as an elephant without the rule of law a democracy without the rule of law [19:18] a democracy without a courageous independent judiciary has in its a virus that will lead to its deaths [19:29] this is the challenge of our country the rule of law because in any society that arm of government that all [19:38] must bar in the judiciary unfortunately and historically respect to the issue about election our country since [19:48] 1979 the dates i say here that my constituency the bar on the bench the judiciary have never been on the [20:03] side of upholding the sanctity of the balance as exemplified by what happened in 1979 because history is a [20:16] graveyard for contending opinions in 1979 remember what happened the decision of the the the the [20:26] the two-third of 19 states that were decided he sent my the bar on the bench let the country down [20:38] when a panel of that supreme court justice said that the document that our list let's say power [20:47] cut for five documents the panel said that if those documents are released it will be due to public [20:54] interest and in any case the then cgm williams who delivered the late judgment at the end of the day [21:04] declared that that particular judgment should not be used as a precedent in future so if the judgment [21:09] was good why will it not be used as a president in the future so where we are today i we i we spent 10 [21:20] years with my colleagues we developed systems developed where service system developed tools to address [21:30] historical challenge of elections service delivery in our country with the aim that the vote of [21:35] the italian people should be determined finally and conclusively at the polling unit not in the [21:42] court of law today it is the courts are now conducting election in our country remember 1983 the same [21:52] situation happened because let me say this here and i want to i want to beg my colleagues members of the [22:03] bar on the bench that our profession the noble profession is not just an occupation for to ache [22:10] a living we have a special role to play in the life of society and that is why when there are [22:17] disputes between citizens and between cities and between cities and government people come to us [22:22] because they trust us and that is why the judiciary start in the very private position in the infel of our [22:29] country but regrettably apart from flashes of cases that it usually seem to to to have done where [22:39] majority of cases has only been to uphold rigged elections now can i give you an example 1983 it was [22:48] moon slide landslide and what happened because of that where power law our lesage the man who used [22:58] education to put the spark of possibility eyes of all of us who were once in the western region before being [23:04] midwest vendor and now data states i was said i will not go to a court because the judiciary has been [23:12] compromised that was the statement of our who himself was a lawyer and so that has been the trend [23:19] the role of lawyers look i said this here if the democracy that someone first fought for as i was [23:27] detained in that noble state now the federal will declare wanted that we fought for if it will die i may not [23:37] die but if it dies the cops will be deposited at the doorstep of the bar and the bench having failed [23:45] to stand at the last line of defense of democracy and the rule of law in our country [23:53] look so what are we saying here when i talk about my constituency over the years i've been talking [24:01] about my constituency i'm not joking the records are there that we have not done well the june 12 [24:10] crisis and of course remember that what happened 1983 was what led us to 16 years of military rule [24:20] until we return back in 1999 the june 12 crisis who were the people behind it of course for example we [24:28] started that the members of our profession will take it off and our association that was already started [24:36] by abn led by atoyzerib and uh abibola davis they were the one who went to court they went to court [24:47] on register body they went to court despite the provision of section 13 subsection 32 of the decree of [24:59] 1993 that barred the court of the land after too many ships of the dead by vermagada administration and barred [25:07] courted in the land not to entertain any uh suit or give any ruling or order stopping the way of that [25:14] election so who was the president that sat at 10 pm it was just his equipment a member of our profession [25:23] that sat at 10 pm to give an order stopping that election and who were the people that fight the [25:30] matter they were lawyers who did that all the decrees that were that were promoted at that who were [25:35] before they are lawyers and of course on the 11th on the 11th of june the same government said look [25:45] the view of that set of that the queen number 13 the election must go on and of course just [25:51] it's supposed to be in lagos however it's only apply the matter in lagos here that matter should go on [25:57] election should go on and of course election went on professor of room was really have released [26:05] 14 reasons because the federal capital territory so what happened somebody again lawyers they went to [26:13] the high court in abijah under the chief judge or the of the high court justice abraham salem he gave [26:20] another to stop the release of election despite section 30 30 section 13 of the decree they went to do [26:32] that just as today we are debating about what is happening in the adc with respect to section 83 [26:40] of the current acts where now it has been interpreted maintenance of starting school [26:45] in our bank removal of starting school these are very strange things that have happened that election [26:50] that was what led to the june 12th on the 23rd when the when neck appeared and the [26:57] deliver to be delivered in kaduna what happened on that very day this is very important that very [27:04] day 23rd of june what happened an unsigned press release was to the effect that june 12th [27:11] had been annoyed who were the people behind that they were lawyers and what did babangida say what [27:19] did dr gober say gober said the reason why they had to acknowledge the job was to one of the reasons [27:26] they gave was to prevent judicial anarchy they placed the whole thing at the doorstep of the judiciary [27:34] now can you compare this to what happened with that jurisdiction as a matter of fact what i have seen the [27:41] the truth is that the judiciary that was so courageous very audacious under the military [27:48] when we're under the rule of force today we are supposed to be under the rule of law the judiciary [27:56] it's not living up to its expectation particularly and i must say this here i i i commend always some of [28:04] the finest members of the bar some of the finest judges we have unfortunately many of the very very [28:10] very very finest ones are not the ones that have presided over some of the matters that have created [28:16] problems for our country so this has been the trajectory of our country invariably what you are [28:23] saying is that the election yeah invariably you are saying the election of 2027 and the success of it [28:33] lies with lawyers and the judiciary because the point is very clear we seem to have set up as always [28:48] the judiciary to not be defined as a determinant of election in our country remember in 2007 in 2007 [28:56] just as there's a provision in the act now now taking over 2007 when ballot papers were not serialized [29:06] how did the supreme court come to the determination of the will of the people the 2007 election ought to [29:11] have been ignored irrespective of the fact that generally it is believed that the red ruling party [29:17] would have won that election but how do you account for ballot paper they will not serialize it was [29:23] a decision of four to three that was this institution like this the reason why in united kingdom that [29:31] for a period of almost 100 years they have no post-election education because the courts in england are [29:38] very strict in united kingdom you can't hear a politician saying that you rig election you say go to [29:45] court because they boast about it that they have judges that they are depressed they can get any [29:50] order in court and that's what will be happening look at what happened in the 2022-23 election the [29:58] primary that were conducted the passage direction that was issued by the the the by the by the by the [30:06] federal high court was to the effect that all pre-election matter should be commenced by way of originating [30:13] summons and indeed to speedy other process but what happened the new law that was put in place when the [30:23] primaries came from abia state to zanfarad all those who went to challenge the outcome of their primaries [30:32] went to the federal court and commenced by way of returning to someone but when the case of [30:38] mohammed lawan the former senate president came up which was the first before that of senate president what [30:45] did the what did the what did the court say the court said it should have commenced the matter by way of [30:50] reed of summer and that was for all the cases were all thrown overboard particularly those that have [30:57] succeeded at the federal high court at the court of happy were thrown overboard in that case why is it [31:03] that the court would not even follow the new statute that had been put in place to address the mystique [31:10] of the past that did not happen so let me say this here is judiciary that shows signs of weakness [31:18] collapse also come to the intimidating influence of corrupt politicians the democracy will be in [31:25] danger this is where we are at the moment i'll ask you that we have found ourselves where we are yeah [31:33] we are because i repeat again yeah how do you show how do you how do we today that i mean i don't hear [31:41] you talking about from what i copied up the supreme court tomorrow and all that by virtue of section 83 [31:46] subsection 5 which is a new provision entirely i said no court in nigeria shall entertain dispute involving [31:57] members of the political party which was also in line with the judgment of abasaki jsc in 1983 when he [32:06] was delivering a new judgment that those are matters for the leadership of political party today [32:13] let's find that if i be judged and lawyers come before me i will ask them to address me on judicial first [32:20] i will draw the attention from 83 then look at the trials that have happened down from federal high [32:27] court they have no jurisdiction to the court of happy and now they have found themselves at the supreme [32:34] court so the question is how do we say that an order for instance to maintain status quo means removal of [32:42] status quo you say that quickly uh we need to go on a break mr gini but before we do that i'd like to [32:50] know from your own point of view the implication because the coalition political party the judgment of [32:57] tomorrow might determine whether or not they will be on the ballot by the provision of the amended [33:03] electoral act 2026 it means that if whatever happens within the next few days is not resolved [33:12] abc might not as is presently constituted under the david mark leadership might not have their name [33:18] themselves on the ballot what implication does that pretend for that election and our democracy so let me [33:30] say here that the institution of multi-party democracy will have no hopeful future if they're [33:39] through institutionalized opposition because political parties remain the essential organs of [33:48] the democratic process without an opposition then of course cannot be talking about a political party [33:56] uh a multi-party democracy this is what we have fought for over time and that was the reason why [34:03] i is we ensured in our time in office that the opposition must survive remember guys we used to [34:12] have what we call inter-party committee to encourage the political parties and order i must say this [34:19] here the section 83 is very clear on this matter it is hopeful that the law lords will decide on the [34:30] matter we have reference tomorrow and we see what happens going forward give me a moment mr again we're [34:38] going to break but there is a concern as raised by mr atiku abubakar who says there are fears that [34:45] elections will be re-eat at the coalition center during this election i'd like you to weigh in on that [34:53] when we return plus we've heard the chief of south to the president mr fenn barjabi amila speak about the [34:59] opposition the role of honorable lakeya begine has gotten a lot of nigerians talking i'd like to [35:05] get your view about what this means about opposition and the 2027 election that's going to be after [35:11] this break everyone join us across nigeria a quiet transformation is happening cities in communities [35:25] in the lives of everyday people i got to know from a friend of mine when i was trying to see how i can [35:32] get there out the dream was never the problem finding a simple path was emry solved two key issues [35:42] for us affordability and accessibility with over 100 billion nara already dispersed thousands of nigerians [35:50] are stepping into home mad you're talking about six weeks through accessible financing and trusted [36:01] support emery is removing barriers and opening doors making home ownership simpler closer and real [36:11] emery is real unaccessible flexible payment structures of up to 20 years you can have a dream and it will come [36:20] through emery your path to home ownership and malaria is what is wrong with my husband ma he was very [36:34] sick in the office this is a lab resort thank you luta with luta malaria is in big trouble luta contains [36:47] atemata and lumafantra and it is used to treat malaria luta is another quality product from hoved [36:55] and marketed by pharmatics nigeria limited this is a new understanding citizens play their part [37:01] government delivers on its promises tax is no longer just about compliance it's the new partnership for a [37:08] greater nigeria the new nigeria revenue service stands not as a tax collector but as a trusted custodian [37:15] of what we build together it's a new deal for a better nigeria a greater nigeria built by us [37:21] funded by us message brought to you by nigeria revenue service nrs my baba they always see for [37:31] market every day get your own wahala [37:37] sometimes people will scan you but baba say no be by gra gra you must cool down this shop because with [37:47] open payment your money go enter sharp sharp no story what's inside market any tvs happen one day we [37:56] know see for me again my baba remember okay ussd lock that's the 955 star 121 hash baba press some lock [38:05] accounts from market to man to driver from small world to big man now okay they protect people like us my [38:12] baba fix cell press phone collect pos and still they teach me price and when they don't tie around [38:18] go just stop open like god we know fear for this our horse knife now okay to the people payment shield [38:27] nigeria is moving forward under the leadership of mr president and we need open agenda across the nation [38:33] road networks are improving bringing development better connectivity and economic growth closer to the [38:39] people in understate the gmt chapter is taking this message to the grassroots through impartful [38:44] programs sport activities jiki ashwaju outreach and the inauguration of gmt-esco members gmt understate [38:51] will also begin unit and ward meetings across the state alongside another round of free jiki ashwaju [38:56] materials and free eyeglasses for the public the elosology we need to hope agenda campaign will visit [39:02] major markets engaging traders and residents on the achievements of the administration nigerians are [39:08] encouraged to continue supporting mr president as he delivers on the renewed hope agenda this program [39:13] is powered by gmt understate and sponsored by honorable olubo mito jojo minister of interior [39:29] across nigeria young people are discovering something powerful they feel it's just like [39:35] geek like style awesome but gig for someone like me is real like work their skills can travel the world [39:43] and through the gateway program women persons with disabilities and displaced youth are gaining [39:49] access to new opportunities in the global digital economy people are getting access to jobs that they [39:55] may not otherwise get had they been looking only at the local economy participants can specialize in [40:02] tracks like graphic design digital marketing ui ux design and video production and editing the growth [40:09] pathway enables skilled creatives to strengthen their portfolios and access global gig work the [40:16] foundation's pathway supports beginners build core technical skills and secure their first gig [40:22] visit gateway.cithub.africa it's free thanks so much everyone for staying with us on the program [40:42] mr mikey guinea a very senior lawyer and a former resident electoral commissioner with iron [40:48] echo has been speaking with us on the state of uh the preparation for the 2027 elections the role of [40:54] the judiciary and what citizens must do thanks so much indeed there are those who have been accusing [41:00] the ruling party of decimating and destroying the opposition party and the president had come out to say [41:07] well he would not be the advocate of helping the political the opposition parties that is happy that [41:14] the parties are confused and not getting their act together but maybe that was further uh uh uh reiterated [41:25] uh by the chief of staff to the president and that those who are now criticizing the apc [41:31] the president bolatinobu government that they are indeed responsible for almost killing the opposition party [41:38] or responsible for the manner in which the opposition party has said man uh we've seen the video of uh [41:45] the devout video social media video uh to the fact uh that the mr fengba jabina bia binla as a social [41:53] event was uh seen to have said quote for a man to contest and he was referring to honorable abeji day [42:01] who was suspended as uh a member of the adc he said for a man to have to contest in a place like kogi [42:09] under a relatively unknown party and win back-to-back elections it tells you who that man is he went [42:16] for that to say my charge to you is to stay in the same party fight them scatter them hold on to your [42:23] party do not abandon them we like what you are doing hold on to your party do not abandon it continue what [42:30] you are doing win your election there nobody can take your party away from you the allegations against [42:35] the ruling party seems to have been linked to uh to what mr bagabia milan what the president has also [42:43] said uh in the past that the apc is responsible for destroying the opposition what are your views [42:50] about this mr higini you know sean since i left the commission having played the role of an umpire [42:59] which was the reason why i refused to take uh uh consultancy from any politician uh is because [43:08] uh having been an umpire even after leaving office i still want to uh avoid partisan partisanship [43:15] conversation uh all i could say is that it's unfortunate uh but i have seen that video it's [43:22] unfortunate uh and i will say that those who have been well served by this democracy that we fought for [43:30] to do well to protect it uh any attempts to stifle uh opposition it will be terrible to shooting the [43:41] heap of democracy that should not happen and so we want to appear to the key stakeholders to be mindful [43:54] of what they say because the challenge we are having today that despite all the enormous reform that [44:00] have been carried out by inek this reform has not been commonly complimented by the behavior of [44:06] political actors who have always been the greatest threats to the survival of democracy in nigeria you [44:14] see as we are now we have already entered the season of intolerance from the things people say [44:20] what they are doing in breach of the law i mean you'll be getting a report about political parties [44:27] being prevented from holding meetings from using civic center from using uh you know public media [44:34] apparatus these are clearly a violation of the 2026 electoral act that says that the civic centers [44:43] television stations that belong to whether the state or the federal these are assets of the nation [44:50] and that those who are who are contesting the election who are challenging those in power that they [44:56] all have access they must be given access as a matter of part uh rally it's a matter of right and indeed [45:04] the 2026 electoral act like the previous one have already made it very clear that the duty of the [45:11] commissioner of police of every state with respect to the use of venue it should be on a conducted manner [45:18] and everybody should be allowed but the reports we are getting across the country is quite frightening [45:22] and i'm very worried all right and that we must warn that this democracy was hard won and that nobody [45:32] to do anything particularly those who have benefited from it and not those who fought for it and all [45:38] that today when i look at the country all over over the years those who never fought for democracy apart [45:44] from only those who fought for democracy i find out all about the place messing up the entire process those [45:50] who have little or no philosophical insight to what leadership is all about have found themselves in [45:55] place position of authority look if we don't fix our politics we can never fix our economy because at [46:05] the center of visual development is politics because developmental issues are embedded in politics and [46:12] political processes it is those who sit at the round table of politics that determine issue about [46:18] development and so we must ensure that this democracy must survive and the way it must survive is to try [46:27] by way of you know engaging on ideas and not on insult because i see very soon the campaign is going to [46:36] be based on insult and not this on issues and that's why i've always advocated right from 2010 there must be a [46:43] debate for people who want to go to office the greatest promise of democracy is peaceful transfer of [46:50] power that is why we have been democracy and the whole evidence of democracy is because it brings about [46:55] participation and accountability to the process of human development so nobody no group whoever in power [47:03] because today if some of us did not make the sacrifice if we did not take the risk myself i would have been a [47:11] dead man by now in those states they go make came to my house my colleague and the entire family were [47:17] wiped out if we didn't do what we did in 2015 those who are in office who came in 2015 there would not [47:23] be 2015 if we didn't stand tall and mighty in defense of democracy and the rule of law there would not [47:28] be 2015 there would have been 2023 2019 2023 and it's going to be something that we are talking about [47:35] there are people who stood up to do the right thing yeah yeah yeah let me jump in quickly and my worry here [47:42] is as much as the opposition points are kissing fingers at the ruling party that you destroy our [47:50] opposition and you are destroying democracy and one of those who say can the opposition also reflect and [47:56] look inward yet uh the statement like by mr fengba gabi amila and some other uh people in the ruling [48:05] party points to the fact when people say where is the evidence that the ruling party is responsible [48:11] the kind of statement from mr bagi amila points at the fact that the members some members of the ruling [48:17] party may have participated actively in helping to destroy and decimate uh the the opposition party but [48:24] can the opposition party also take responsibility for their own failure and their own inaction and [48:31] leaving because all of them went to sleep after 2023 election they left everything when 2027 is coming [48:37] they're now scampering and looking for power is the opposition able also to take responsibility for [48:44] their own failure and say we failed in standing up against what could have been the destruction of the [48:50] opposition party because the destruction of opposition party in a democracy like ours is a the destruction [48:57] of our society so you know you remember that after the 2023 election where i we did so much develop [49:11] processing and procedure to get the best of election for our country and after the outcome remember that [49:18] the fact that the last leg of the election had issue and people were saying mr higini you told us this [49:28] you told us that i was not i was right in what we did because you remember that that election produced [49:36] evil okada riders but here's the point i want to say here and that is that when you say opposition [49:45] because you know i basically part of the problem why i don't even know so much that happened when it comes [49:50] sort of because i told you i switched i put my television on shining station because i was fed up [49:55] of somebody that i was saying another so i know i will see i read some of the people after the [50:03] election there were people who were still going around who were still engaging another that if we [50:08] now have a situation where i just mentioned to you if what is happening to political parties in nigeria [50:15] it were to be in the us it will not happen if we be in uk it will not happen i just [50:21] gave you an example that for example in south carolina in supreme court have to amend election [50:32] and another instance again in the u.s election have been that have been fixed a candidate of a party [50:40] like what happened before 20 in the 2020 the senior advocate uh the candidate of pdp do you recall that [50:48] the crisis of that pdp that during that period we have so many plethora cases all over the country [50:56] you remember that you showed you were the one who organized uh debate for the governancy candidate [51:02] between our list san and another candidate you remember that the candidate of bdp because the [51:09] kdp crisis was warehoused it was warehoused until less than 24 hours it did not participate in the [51:16] debate you conducted that will not happen in another part of the world since judiciary have a role to play [51:22] and that is why this example i want to give to what happened in u.s election had been fixed 48 hours [51:28] to that election so the candidates that was picked resigned and they now picked it wrong if they don't [51:36] off to that in that primaries that matter was challenged they went to a court the moment the matter [51:43] landed in first court because a date had been fixed the date will never change by way of what the court [51:48] court stated the court of happy was on standby supreme court was on standby before 48 hours the matter [51:55] was determined but in nigeria what you have here when you have a pre-election matter you are required [52:02] to be given half year one one six months to be determined or for a little matter it goes almost [52:09] at infinitum governorship election it takes six months and the court of happy 60 60 days supreme court 60 [52:18] days that is not done anywhere we were in the u.s over 40 cases before the election we are resolved i was [52:26] in kenya in 2013 for the conduct of election we are on the 13th on the on the on the fourth of that on [52:34] that election a candidate a candidate manager was found with money bribing buying voters in kenya he was [52:45] arrested the court will stand by he was taking the court he was arraigned you know summary you know [52:57] give me a moment because i have one more question for you before we close the program but it's going [53:01] to be after this break thank you so much mr again i've just got uh 60 seconds to to go on the program [53:57] and to quickly conclude there is a concern raised by mr atiku abubaka who says he's worried that [54:04] election manipulation will happen at the uh coalition center what are your biggest fear is [54:11] mr article right about that concern because of your experience if there are ways elections of 1027 [54:17] could be rigged which are these ways so i do not have the formation the former vice president [54:28] has at his disposal um that he formed what he has said but clearly the 2026 2026 electoral act [54:42] already has provision to undermine the 2027 election i just give you two provisions apart from section 60 [54:52] subsection 3 proviso where they say if there's no network i will know that there will be no network [55:00] again by 2027 but here are two provisions that are very concerning which have been put in there and [55:10] of course this is what i don't want to go to courts section 137 sub section 3 i just go and check it [55:21] this provision is to the effect that a presiding officer a presiding officer a attorney officer all the [55:35] categories of people that participate in this election that it shall not be necessary to bring [55:41] them to testify a tribunal hello mr again we're totally out of time well i most sincerely thank you [55:54] for your effort tonight mr egini is a very senior lawyer and a former president electoral commissioner with [56:01] aina thank you so much mr you know always a pleasure having you on the program thank you so much indeed [56:06] i appreciate that's our show for tonight everyone many thanks for watching i'm sure god bless nigeria [56:13] lawmakers within our national and state assemblies are the voice of the people women occupy only 21 [56:35] out of 469 seats in the national assembly a mere 4.5 percent while in the state's assemblies of the 991 [56:45] legislative seats across the 36 state houses of assembly women hold only 54 seats or roughly 5.4 [56:54] percent it is abysmal the 15 states currently have no women represented in their legislatures at all [57:03] this means that half of nigeria's population is effectively shut out of key decision making spaces [57:11] this imbalance is not due to a lack of competence ambition or leadership capacity nigerian women [57:18] have consistently demonstrated excellence and delivered measurable results across every sector [57:26] business civil society and public service hello everyone i am honorable mrs mary singhen [57:34] the commissioner of women affairs and child development of our state at the heart of every strong [57:41] democracy is fair and balanced representation yet in nigeria today there is still a clear gap between [57:49] who makes up our population and who sits at the decision making table the special seat bill for women [57:56] is a is a practical step to close that gap it is not about preference it is about performance it ensures [58:06] that more qualified nigeria have a seat where laws are made and national priorities are shaped stronger [58:14] representation leads to better debate better decision and stronger public trust in our institutions i call [58:22] on my colleagues to support this bill not just as a policy choice but as a commitment to strengthening nigerian [58:31] democracy let us act with purpose let us move forward together thank you distinguished lawmakers soon you will cast [58:41] a vote on the special seats bill for women beyond legislation you'll be answering a question that will outlive [58:49] all of us on which side of progress did i stand your vote is the opportunity to uphold that legacy of leadership [59:00] the special seats bill the special seats bill provides a critical opening for the national [59:05] and state assemblies to correct the gender imbalance in women's representation in the legislature we urge you [59:13] to support a legislature that truly reflects the people it serves this message is brought to you by the [59:22] policy and legal advocacy center black