Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, on Wednesday revealed that he would not hesitate to stand as surety again for the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu given the same circumstances. Abaribe explained that he stood surety for Kanu when the IPOB leader was arraigned because it was a condition imposed by the court. According to him, the court ordered that one of the sureties must be a Senator, and as the Chairman of the Southeast Senators Caucus then, he had to make himself available as the surety. Abaribe said: “There is a difference between jumping bail and escaping for your life. I went back to court and deposed that on the basis of the principle of ‘last seen’, that the last people seen with him were soldiers of the Nigerian army who were invading his father’s residence.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rescheduled the physical registration of voters to July 26, 2021. The commission had earlier announced the date for commencement of physical registration as of July 19, 2021, but added that it may be affected by the public holidays for Eid-il-Kabir. In a statement on Friday, Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner, and chairman, Information and voter education, said with the federal government’s declaration of July 20 and July 21 as public holidays, the date had to be adjusted. “Consequently, the physical registration of voters will now commence on Monday, July 26, 2021. Online registrants that have scheduled appointments from July 19, 2021, to July 23, 2021, will have their appointments rescheduled.” The statement reads.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill seeking to establish the Electoral Offences Commission. This followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chaired by Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano). Gaya, in his presentation, noted that establishing the Electoral Offences Commission has become imperative in view of INEC’s inability to prosecute electoral offenders in accordance with the provisions of sections 149 and 150(2) of the Electoral Act (as amended).

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has assured the public that it will not impose any aspirant as its presidential candidate, and all other elective posts for the 2023 general election. This comes after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused President Muhammadu Buhari of having a “self succession plan”, causing jitters among APC leadership. The Secretary of the party’s Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Senator John James Akpanudoedehe made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

The Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, on Sunday declared its support for the Southern governors on rotational presidency. Jareh Ajayi, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere made the group’s stance known in an interview yesterday. On July 5, Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) met in Lagos State and insisted on rotational presidency, stressing that the 2023 presidency should be zoned to the south. The decision of the governors was made public in a communiqué read by the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu. According to Ajayi, the group is totally in support of the governor’s position, adding that it would only be fair and just for the Southern part of the country to produce the next president of Nigeria.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Charles Soludo, as well as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the candidates’ list for the Anambra 2021 Governorship poll. INEC who released the list of candidates for the November 6 poll on Friday, listed a member of the House of Representatives from another faction of the All Progressives Congress (APGA), Chukwuma Umeoji as the flagbearer instead of Soludo. 

Elections into the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of Lagos State commenced on what was described as slow pace on Saturday with voters trickling in at polling centres across the state. Part of the reasons for this was blamed on the lack of preparedness by Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) by a councillorship candidate for the People’s Democratic Party, Mr. Bolaji Ogunojo, who said this was responsible for the voter apathy being witnessed in the election. The Lagos State Government had announced restriction of movement across the state between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, to enable hitch-free conduct of elections into positions of chairmen and councillors in all the state’s 57 LGAs and LCDAs. Accreditation and voting started at 9. 10 a.m. at Zion African School, Alaagba, Iyana-Ipaja’s wards F 026 and 027 Polling Units in Agege, but there were few voters on ground. Police authorities in both Lagos and Ogun States said they have deployed personnel and logistics to ensure adequate security necessary for lives and property during and after the conduct of the election. It was observed that Police and Neighbourhood Corps personnel were present at some polling units to ensure hitch-free voting.

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has criticized the agitation of Southern governors over the zoning for the 2023 presidency, the 1999 constitution does not recognize the zoning of the Presidency. Gov. Bello said this on Friday during the opening session of the First Annual GYB Seminar for Nigeria’s Political and Crime correspondents at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, saying Nigeria needs a President from Nigeria and not a zone.

There was sporadic gunshot on Thursday at the Imo State House of Assembly Complex in Owerri, the state capital following the suspension of minority leader, Ayadike Nwosu and five lawmakers over alleged unparliamentary activities. In an emergency plenary, the Speaker Rt. Hon. Paul Emezim suspended the lawmakers indefinitely over “unparliamentary conduct”.