NEWS
Filling INEC APC Loyalists: SERAP, BudgIT, 34 Citizens Sue Tinubu
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), BudgIT and 34 concerned Nigerians have dragged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to court over “the appointment of at least four members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and allies of high-ranking politicians as new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
Deputy Director, SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare disclosed this in a statement made available to Biztellers on Sunday in Lagos.
Recall that the Senate has confirmed the appointment of seven out of 10 newly appointed RECs for INEC.
Oluwadare pointed out that “The alleged APC members appointed as RECs include those from Akwa Ibom, Edo, Lagos and Rivers States.”
Biztellers gathered that in the suit number FHC/L/CS/2353/2023 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the Plaintiffs prayed for, “an order setting aside the nomination, confirmation and appointment of the alleged APC members as RECs for INEC, for being unconstitutional, unlawful, null, void and of no effect.”
The statement highlighted that the Plaintiffs also asked the FHC for, “an order of mandamus to compel President Tinubu and Senate President Mr Godswill Akpabio to remove the alleged APC members as RECs for INEC, in line with Section 157 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended].”
In addition, they prayed the court to enter “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Tinubu to appoint qualified Nigerians who are persons of unquestionable integrity and a non-member of a political party or loyalist to the positions of RECs for INEC, in line with Paragraph 14(3)(b)(c), Third Schedule and Section 156 of the Nigerian Constitution.”
The Plaintiffs argued in the suit that, “The status, powers, independence of INEC, and the impartiality with which it acts and is seen to be allowed to act, are fundamental to the integrity of Nigeria’s elections and effectiveness of citizens’ democratic rights.”
They are also arguing that, “INEC ought to be the primary guarantor of the integrity and purity of the electoral process. President Tinubu and the Senate have the constitutional responsibilities to ensure both the appearance and the actual independence and impartiality in the nomination and confirmation of INEC top officials.”
According to the Plaintiffs, “The credibility and legitimacy of elections depend mostly on the independence and impartiality of those appointed to manage the process. Without an independent and impartial INEC, the democratic rights of Nigerians would remain illusory.”
The Plaintiffs further argued that, “Anyone to be appointed as RECs for INEC must clearly be non-partisan, independent, impartial and neutral. INEC officials ought to be able to discharge their legal duties and implement the Electoral Act without fear or favour.
“Nigeria’s electoral body must enjoy the independence from direction or control, whether from the government or any other quarter. It must be accountable to the electorate, and act accordingly.”
The suit filed on behalf of the Plaintiffs by their lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part, “As public officers, President Tinubu and Mr Godswill Akpabio are required to act in conformity with their oath of office and the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended].
“Treating INEC as a line department accountable to bureaucratic higher-ups and high-ranking politicians rather than as an independent and impartial body is antithetical to constitutional and international standards and the notion of the rule of law.
“The use of the word ‘non-partisan’ means that those to be appointed to conduct credible elections must not be people who openly identify as belonging to a political party, whose occupation is politics or who are perceived by ordinary Nigerians as having political biases.
“Section 153(1) (f) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that ‘There shall be established for the Federation the following bodies, namely – (f) Independent National Electoral Commission.’
“Section 156(1) of the Nigerian Constitution provides among others that, ‘in the case of the Independent National Electoral Commission, he[she] [the person to be appointed as a REC] shall not be a member of a political party.’
“Paragraph 14 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution provides among others that ‘2. A member [of INEC] shall –a. be non-partisan and a person of unquestionable integrity… 3. a Resident Electoral Commissioner shall –b. be a person of unquestionable integrity and shall not be a member of any political party.’
“Under Section 6(4) of the Electoral Act 2022, ‘The appointment of a Resident Electoral Commissioner shall be in compliance with section 14 (3) of the Nigerian Constitution.’
“The nomination, confirmation and appointment of the alleged APC members as RECs for INEC is a breach of Section 6(4) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Section 156(1)(a) and Paragraph 14 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution.
“The United Nations Human Rights Committee has stated that states including Nigeria should establish independent electoral authorities to supervise the electoral process and to ensure that elections are conducted fairly, impartially and in accordance with established laws and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The African Union’s African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance to which Nigeria is a state party also calls upon state parties to establish and strengthen independent and impartial national electoral bodies responsible for the management of elections.
“Those recently appointed as RECs and confirmed by the Senate include an individual who was formerly a member of the PDP before allegedly ‘decamping’ to the APC and who served as the Chief of Staff to Mr Godswill Akpabio when he was Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
“The alleged APC members or loyalists also include individuals who reportedly campaigned on social media for the election of President Tinubu and who was appointed as chairman of the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board in 2001 when Mr Tinubu governed the state.”
Other parties named in the suit as Defendants include, the INEC; Mr Godswill Akpabio, for himself and on behalf of the Senate; and Messrs Etekamba Umoren; Isah Shaka Ehimeakne; Anugbum Onuoha; and Bunmi Omoseyindemi.
The court is yet to fix any hearing date for the suit.
The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to launch a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), in a major move aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, at the ongoing Nigerian Investor Forum, held on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC.
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Edun explained that the upcoming audit, along with recent changes in NNPCL management, is part of a broader effort to reform the state-owned oil company and rebuild trust in Nigeria’s economic institutions.
Addressing top global investors, including representatives from financial giant J.P. Morgan, Edun outlined a series of bold economic reforms introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He said the measures are already yielding positive results and have laid a strong foundation for future growth.
“Our goal is not just to maintain this momentum, but to accelerate it,” Edun said. “We are targeting seven per cent annual growth, and we believe the policies we have implemented have laid the groundwork to achieve this.”
According to Edun, Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.84% in the fourth quarter of 2024, with an overall annual growth rate of 3.4%.
He described the government’s economic strategy as “unprecedented,” adding that key indicators such as the budget deficit, trade balance, and exchange rate have all shown signs of improvement.
“We said we would do it, and now we have done it. This time, we’re staying the course,” he emphasized.
The minister also highlighted the government’s focus on agriculture as a critical driver of economic growth, saying efforts are underway to close the food supply gap by empowering local producers.
“We aim to close the food supply gap, not by importing more, but by enabling domestic producers to scale and innovate,” he said.
In the area of infrastructure, Edun announced that 90,000km of fibre optic cable has been rolled out to boost internet connectivity, especially for young Nigerians and the tech ecosystem.
Additionally, 4,000km of roads have been earmarked for private sector participation, with the first 1,000km already approved for construction.
In the early hours of Thursday, Kyiv was rocked by a devastating Russian missile and drone attack, described by Ukrainian officials as one of the most brutal strikes on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia unleashed 70 missiles and 145 drones overnight, targeting several cities across the country.
The barrage on Kyiv left at least nine people dead and over 60 wounded, including six children.
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Air raid sirens blared across the capital around 1:00 a.m., warning residents to seek shelter.
Moments later, loud explosions shattered the night, lighting up the sky and shaking buildings. “Phone calls can be heard from under the rubble — the search will continue until we are confident that we have found everyone,” said Interior Minister Igor Klymenko.
He confirmed that two children remained unaccounted for amid the chaos.
Rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors from under collapsed buildings. Fires broke out across multiple apartment blocks, and damage was reported in at least 13 locations.
In one tragic scene in the Sviatoshinsky district, a woman sat on a foldout chair beside a covered body, gently stroking the arm of a loved one killed in the strike.
Nearby, a bloodied woman clutched her dog as a first responder spoke calmly to her, trying to provide comfort amid the destruction.
Prime Minister Denys Shmygal condemned the assault in stark terms. “Cruise and ballistic missiles, drones, air bombs — Russia is cruelly and cynically firing missiles at Ukrainian cities, killing people while the world is making efforts to establish peace,” he wrote on social media.
The attack came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for a ceasefire. “Stopping the killings is the number one task,” Zelensky stated online following a meeting between his aides and Western officials in London.
However, any momentum toward peace appeared to falter. Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to respond to Zelensky’s offer to halt airstrikes on civilian areas and previously dismissed a joint U.S.-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire.
“Putin demonstrates through his actions, not words, that he does not respect any peace efforts and only wants to continue the war,” said Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga. Echoing that sentiment, presidential aide Andriy Yermak declared, “Putin shows only a desire to kill.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking hours before the attack, claimed a peace deal with Russia was close.
He blamed Zelensky for stalling negotiations by refusing to accept Moscow’s annexation of Crimea, stating that Ukraine’s position “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field’.”
Meanwhile, Russian forces expanded their offensive to other regions.
In Kharkiv, at least seven missiles struck a densely populated residential district, according to city mayor Igor Terekhov. Russia’s defense ministry also reported downing 87 Ukrainian drones, including 45 over Crimea.
Earlier this month, Russia’s campaign of aerial terror intensified. A missile strike on the city of Sumy killed at least 35 people, while another attack on Zelensky’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih, claimed 19 lives — nine of them children.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is intensifying its campaign against substance abuse by proposing mandatory drug integrity tests for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and individuals preparing for marriage.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), explained the rationale behind the proposal during a meeting with the NYSC leadership in Abuja on April 23, 2025.
Speaking to NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, Marwa clarified that the tests are not intended to be punitive but are part of a broader strategy to curb drug abuse and intervene early in cases of dependence.
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“It is always better to detect drug use early before it gets to addiction, which eventually could get to psychiatric problems, and it becomes a danger to the user and society,” Marwa stated.
While welcoming the new NYSC chief, Marwa commended the scheme as “a national treasure and a veritable instrument of national unity.”
He highlighted the alarming rate of drug use in the country and called for collective efforts in tackling the challenge.
“The drug scourge has continued to devastate our kids, families, and communities everywhere. There’s nowhere you go in the country that you don’t have a drug abuse problem,” he said. “One in seven Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 uses drugs.”
Marwa emphasized that while NDLEA is working hard to restrict access and availability of drugs, reducing demand is equally important.
He urged NYSC to play a more active role in this regard.
“You have mentioned our efforts to cut off access and availability of these drugs but beyond that, we have to work with all stakeholders, including NYSC to ensure drastic reduction in the demand for drugs by our youths, and one of our strategies to address this is through our drug integrity test, which we’re advocating that NYSC should embrace for corps members.”
He also praised the introduction of the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) clubs in NYSC camps, describing them as a positive development, while calling for further collaboration in areas such as prevention, counseling, and rehabilitation.
“This is a major drug demand reduction effort. In the same way we said, if you are getting married, both the bride and the groom should bring a drug-free certificate,” he added.
According to Marwa, early detection remains key to managing substance abuse and preventing it from evolving into more severe health or social issues.
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