Prof Amupitan

By Our Reporter

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has assured Nigerians that the commission will remain neutral in the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan said INEC had no preferred candidate or political party, stressing that its responsibility was to uphold the will of Nigerian voters.

He spoke during a visit to the Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, in Zaria, Kaduna State, as part of the commission’s ongoing stakeholder engagement and preparations for the 2027 elections.

The visit was also linked to INEC’s zonal readiness assessment and planned interactive engagement with its staff as the commission intensifies preparations for the nationwide polls.

Amupitan described traditional institutions as important stakeholders in the electoral process, citing their influence and reach across communities.

He said elections were fundamentally about the relationship between citizens and those entrusted with public office, adding that public confidence was

According to the INEC chairman, the commission began preparations early because of the scale and complexity involved in conducting elections across Nigeria.

He said INEC had moved away from last-minute preparations and was already testing, auditing and strengthening its operational systems ahead of the 2027 polls.

Amupitan assured the Emir that the electoral body remained committed to neutrality, fairness and transparency.

“We have no candidates, we have no political party, we have no interest other than the sovereign will of the people of Nigeria,” he said.

The INEC chairman also urged traditional rulers to continue playing a role in promoting peaceful participation and responsible conduct ahead of the elections.

In a separate appeal during the visit, Amupitan said elections should not be treated as a do-or-die affair, urging political parties, candidates and their supporters to embrace peaceful and issue-based campaigns.

He also called on traditional institutions to discourage young people from being used for political violence and thuggery, while encouraging eligible citizens to participate actively in the electoral process.

Amupitan said INEC would continue engaging traditional rulers and other stakeholders as preparations for the 2027 general elections progress.

Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Ima Niboro, has said President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have halted years of deepening structural problems and laid a stronger foundation for sustainable growth and renewed investor confidence in Nigeria.
Niboro, a former Presidential Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, spoke during an interview on News Central Television at the weekend.
He said successive administrations had largely postponed difficult decisions on fuel subsidy, foreign exchange, and other structural problems, allowing the burden on the economy to accumulate over the years.
According to him, Tinubu chose instead to confront the problems despite the political and social costs associated with the reforms.
“From the Tinubu government going forward, they will have a foundation to stand on because Tinubu has secured that. So, we will end this whole business of digging ourselves deeper and deeper,” Niboro said.
“From the Obasanjo government, we were doing fuel subsidy, we were subsidising the naira. The more we dug ourselves in, the more we sank. When a new government came, this continued.
“Now, Tinubu has stopped this digging — digging ourselves into fuel subsidy debts, digging ourselves into foreign exchange crisis. This was a surgery that was impossible to avoid by any responsible government.”
Niboro said the administration’s fiscal and foreign exchange reforms were beginning to produce results, arguing that the improved external position had helped restore international confidence in the Nigerian economy.
He recalled that there was a period when Nigerians faced severe restrictions using their bank cards outside the country because of foreign exchange constraints, contrasting that situation with what he described as the stronger external position today.
“These are the foundations already built. This is a new nation. The President could have come and continued with the whole mess that was there,” he said.
Niboro also attributed what he described as Nigeria’s recurring cycle of disappointment with successive governments partly to the failure of leaders to confront inherited structural problems.
“You need courage to do that. When President Tinubu removed fuel subsidy, were there no protests? But he stood his ground as President,” he said.
Comparing the Tinubu administration with that of former President Jonathan, Niboro said both leaders operated under significantly different political circumstances.
He described Jonathan as “decent” and “very brilliant,” but said his political base became fragmented, limiting the administration’s ability to pursue some of its objectives.
“President Jonathan was decent, very brilliant, and you cannot get better than him, but his political base was splintered,” he said.
Niboro argued that Tinubu had drawn lessons from previous administrations by building a broader political coalition around his government.
On insecurity, the APC PCC spokesman said the nation’s security forces were receiving substantial support from the administration and expressed confidence that sustained operations and investment in security would progressively reduce the threat across the country.

*** Vows hike workers pay as president 

By Tony Chuddy 

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday called on the federal government to immediately commence the process of increasing workers wage accross the country to cussion the effects  of the hardship that has trailed it’s economic policies 

The ADC presidential candidate demanded a raise in the national minimum wage, arguing that the current N70,000 wage has been eroded by rising costs of fuel, food, transportation and housing.

It would be recalled that the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo had made a similar call last week, while admitting that the present cost of living has eroded the workers purchasing power 

Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday, by the Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, regretted  that Nigerian workers were being forced to cope with a sharp decline in their purchasing power despite the increase in the statutory minimum wage.

He emphasised that the workers deserve what he described as a substantial wage increase that reflects prevailing living costs, adding that the current wage had failed to adequately protect workers from the effects of rising prices.

According to the former vice president, the entire N70,000 monthly minimum wage  cannot buy 50 litres of petrol, with the current price at N1420

‘What does the worker take home to feed the children? What pays the rent? What gets that worker back to work on Monday?” he queried in the statement.

Atiku compared the purchasing power of the old and current wage levels, saying that at the April 2023 national average petrol price of N254.06 per litre, the sum of N30,000 could purchase about 118 litres, whereas N70,000 at N1,400 per litre would purchase about 50 litres.

“The payslip has grown, but the fuel it can buy has more than halved. Tinubu has given workers a larger number and left them with a smaller life. That is hardship dressed up as a wage increase,” he added.

The statement further rejected the federal government’s removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy was implemented before adequate protection was put in place for working families.

“The government pulled away the floor, offered workers a flimsy umbrella and now applauds itself while the rain beats down on them.

“Petrol does not stay at the pump. Its price follows the farmer to market, enters the baker’s oven and appears in the fare a parent pays to take a child to school,” he stressed.

He, however, acknowledged that wage structures and living costs differ from country to country, but maintained that such differences did not make N70,000 sufficient for Nigerian workers facing current prices.

Atiku challenged Tinubu to make his position on another wage increase clear, saying workers should not be subjected to prolonged negotiations without a definite outcome.

“If he has no intention of raising workers’ pay, he should say so plainly and stop stringing the Nigeria Labour Congress and other labour leaders along. Nigerian workers deserve an answer, not another round of meetings that ends where it began,” he added.

He promised that, if elected in 2027, his administration would begin work on raising the wage floor from its first day in office.

“I will begin the work of raising the wage floor from my first day in office,” Atiku assured.

He further promised measures aimed at reducing the cost of living, including support for domestic production, targeted social protection and interventions in the petroleum sector.

Atiku said his proposed targeted production subsidy would support petroleum products refined in Nigeria and sold to Nigerians, subject to spending limits, public accounting and independent auditing.

“Government support must produce measurable relief at the pump,” he said.

The former vice president also called for measures to stabilise the prices of essential goods and energy, arguing that higher wages alone would not adequately address the pressures facing households if the cost of living continued to rise.

“Nigerians do not eat FAAC figures. A full treasury is no answer to an empty kitchen. The test of this government is whether the men and women who work all month can live on what they earn.

“A living wage must buy a living. It is not a privilege; it is a basic right.