By Our Reporter

Club De Pals, a congregation of Tiv elites based in Abuja, Sunday, 8th February 2026 at the Royal Choice Inn, Abuja inaugurated a new executive council (EXCO) to run its affairs in the next two years.

The EXCO, headed by Trustee Richard Nduul, as President has Josephine Akiga (Akisco), Vice president and Arc Robert Unde is secretary general with Julius Abunde, assistant secretary. Pius Tyavkase Iorliam is financial secretary while Josephine Nguyilan Ugor is the treasurer. Barr Mrs Margaret Mwuese Hul is legal adviser while Mrs Avese Asough Zaki is the Club’s publicity secretary.

In his post inauguration speech, the president, Trustee Nduul thanked members of the Club for finding him and the entire EXCO worthy to serve in the next two years.

He reiterated that he would do his best to entrench unity among members even as he would be strict in following the provisions of the new constitution that has come into effect with the inception of the new exco.

Nduul also promised to work toward the completion of the Club’s secretariat for use and to carry everyone along.

Earlier, chairman of the electoral committee, Elder Tom Chiahemen, commended Club De Pals for choosing him and other members of the committee to conduct the elections and for the cooperation they enjoyed in the course of their assignment.

He ascribed the inauguration as a product of the free, fair and hitch free elections his committee conducted.

The independent observer, Barr Chaha, in his comments praised the Club for her innovativeness especially in its adoption of electronic voting that went side by side with the secret ballot.

Different members present at the event expressed support and solidarity with the in-coming administration.

In his contribution, Pal Dr Cletus Akwaya, who is also the managing Director of Daily Asset media conglomerate, regretted that members of the Club seem not to appreciate how they are seen or rated by the public, stressing that the ranking of Club De Pals of 2026 is no longer the same with what it was twenty years ago. He added by calling on well-to-do Club members to live up to expectations by promptly fulfilling all their financial obligations as well as supporting those who are less-privileged in their midst.

Meanwhile, the positions of chief whip and social secretary have remained vacant as no one contested for them.

… as Prof. Ganduje weighs in on political rift

By Wumi Tewogbade, Abuja

Over 4,064 indigenes of Kano State on Saturday, benefited from an empowerment drive led by the FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, in a major push to strengthen livelihoods across the state’s 44 local government areas.

The initiative targeted APC women leaders, vulnerable citizens and low-income earners, with beneficiaries receiving cash support, food items, working tools, motorcycles, tricycle wheelchairs, fertilisers, grinding machines, and six vehicles, among other materials.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mahmoud said the programme was designed to boost self-reliance and restore dignity rather than simply distribute items.

She noted that the loyalty, sacrifice and grassroots mobilisation of the women leaders and other beneficiaries had continued to reinforce APC structures in Kano.

“Women formed the backbone of families, communities, and political structures,” she said, adding that empowering a woman meant empowering an entire household and society.

According to her, “Rooted in the APC’s progressive ideals of social justice, inclusive growth, and shared prosperity, the initiative addressed economic challenges by promoting self-reliance over dependency, stimulating local productivity, bolstering household incomes, and enabling beneficiaries to contribute to economic and community development.”

Mahmoud urged recipients to see the items as tools for expanded opportunity and broader family support, saying the gesture aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on women inclusion, youth empowerment and social welfare.

Mahmoud urged stakeholders across the state to promote peaceful coexistence and work collectively for a more prosperous Kano and a stronger Nigeria.

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Dr. Suwaiba Halilu, who attended the event in solidarity, said Mahmoud had shown clear commitment to the welfare of her people, aligning with the Renewed Hope Initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In her words, “One of the key area of priority of President Bola Tinubu is human capital development, and today’s empowerment programme by Dr Mariya Mahmoud, has shown that human capital development is also a priority to the FCT Minister of State.”

The minister urged beneficiaries to make proper use of the items “not only for their own self-reliance but that of their families.”

Former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ado Doguwa, also commended the Minister, saying her gesture was a personal sacrifice, not a government-funded intervention.

“As a lawmaker, I am aware of fund approved by the Federal Government for intervention, but I can tell you that no money was allocated for this particular empowerment. We must appreciate the Honourable Minister for dipping into her personal funds to bring succour to the people. She’s evident of how APC is always having the people’s interests at heart,” he said.

Doguwa congratulated Mahmoud for “going beyond her official mandate to empower Kano indigenes,” describing the initiative as a reflection of APC’s people-centred principles.

Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Hafsat Abdullahi Ganduje, commended the Minister for the kind gesture saying it is a demonstration of the true spirit of the All Progressives Congress.

Prof. Ganduje who also used the occasion to sue for peace among political heavy weights in Kano State, urged former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and his predecessor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to sheath their sword in the interest of the State.

“I must use this opportunity to remind the former governors that they are not just friends but brothers. They should please come together and support the current governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, to finish his tenure just as Rabiu Kwankwaso supported Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to become governor and today both of them are former governors.”

Speaking on behalf of other beneficiaries, the APC women leader in the State, Hajiya Fatima Dala thanked the minister for the gesture, particularly ensuring that a transparent process of reaching actual beneficiaries.

“We have had ministers from Kano State but we have never seen such empowerment programme in the history of Kano State. The Honourable Minister has demonstrated concern for women and vulnerable by ensuring that only those who deserve these items actually benefit from it.

“I urge other beneficiaries to please make good use if these items to be self-reliant. Let me also use this opportunity to call on other politicians to emulate the minister by empowering more women because we have the bulk vote.”

By Saint Mugaga

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed criticisms trailing the Senate’s amendment of the Electoral Act, saying commentators and civil society actors are misjudging the legislature based on an incomplete legislative process and misunderstanding of parliamentary procedures.

Akpabio spoke in Abuja as special guest of honour at the unveiling of a book, “The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria”, authored by Senator Effiong Bob, in Abuja.

Speaking on the controversy surrounding the removal of the phrase “real-time” electronic transmission of election results, Akpabio said the Senate had not concluded work on the bill and that public debate was premature.

“The Electoral Act amendment is incomplete. We have not completed it, but they are already on television. They don’t understand lawmaking.

“They don’t even know that what is in the Senate is not completed until we look at the Votes and Proceedings,” he said.

Akpabio explained that the Votes and Proceedings stage allows senators to correct, amend, or clarify decisions taken on the floor before final approval, stressing that only after that process could the Senate’s position be considered final.

“When we bring out the Votes and Proceedings, any senator has a right to rise and say, ‘On clause three, this was what we agreed upon.’ That is the only time you can talk about what the Senate has done or not done,” he said.

He criticised commentators for what he described as “abuse” of the legislature, accusing some civil society actors of attempting to impose their views on lawmakers.

“People have become mouth legislators. Go and contest election if you want to talk about lawmaking and go and join them and make the law. Retreats are not lawmaking; retreats are part of consultations. So why do you think that the paper you agreed in Lagos during a retreat must be what is agreed on the floor?” he asked.

Akpabio insisted that the Senate did not remove electronic transmission of election results, clarifying that lawmakers only questioned the requirement for real-time transmission.

“I must state clearly, without ambiguity, that the Senate has not removed any means of transmission. If you want to use a bicycle to carry your votes from one polling unit to the ward centre, do so. If you want to use your phone to transmit, do so. If you want to use your iPad, do so,” he said.

He said the concern was that mandating real-time transmission could lead to legal disputes if network failures occurred during elections.

“All we said was that we should remove the word ‘real time,’ because if you say real time and there is grid failure and the network is not working, when you go to court somebody will say it ought to have been real time,” he explained.

According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should determine the mode and timing of result transmission within the framework of the law.

The Senate President warned that insisting on real-time transmission could invalidate results in areas with poor connectivity or insecurity.

“Real time means that in over nine states where networks are not working because of insecurity, there will be no election results. Nationally, if the national grid collapses and no network is working, no election results will be valid,” he said.

He cited a Supreme Court ruling which, he said, acknowledged Nigeria’s inadequate infrastructure and emphasised that electronic transmission is only supplementary to the statutory collation process.

“The result is in Form EC8A. It will be carried from the polling unit to the ward centre, from there to the local government collation centre, to the senatorial collation centre, to the state collation centre, and finally the national collation centre,” he said.

Akpabio stressed that the amendment bill had not yet completed the bicameral legislative process and that a conference committee would reconcile differences between the Senate and House of Representatives versions before final passage.

“It is only when we have finished that that you will now say the National Assembly has passed any amendment to the Electoral Act,” he said.

He urged critics to allow the process to run its course, warning against attempts to “rubbish the process” before its conclusion.

Akpabio said electoral reforms must be grounded in legal and institutional capacity, warning against imposing technology beyond the country’s infrastructure.

“We insist that electoral reforms must be anchored in law, guided by capacity, secured against abuse and applied uniformly across the nation. Technology must serve democracy; it must not endanger democracy,” he said.

He added: “You stay in a place that has no wire, no light, and you want to put in the law ‘real time.’ Progress must not bring about injustice.”

The Senate President warned that mistrust of institutions without understanding legislative processes could weaken democracy.

“When people do not understand their legislature, democracy is at risk. Democracy is measured not by passion alone, but by principles,” he said.

He also recalled that the current Electoral Act enabled competitive elections in 2023, including losses by the then ruling party in key states.

“This same Electoral Act made the incumbent party almost lose millions of votes. We lost in places like Lagos and Kano. New parties won whole regions with the same act, whether real-time electronic transfer or not,” he said.

Akpabio concluded that laws must be made for posterity rather than partisan advantage, adding: “You don’t make law for an individual or for opposition. You make law to outlast you, for generations unborn.”

Earlier in his opening remarks, the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, who was the chairman of occasion, urged the National Assembly to pass the Bill and not to speak for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“What the ADC is saying is, pass the law. Let INEC decide whether they can do it (real-time electronic transmission) or not. Don’t speak for INEC.

“The stand of ADC is clear; pass the bill and let INEC decide on what it will do with it”, Mark said.

Several speakers at the event, including Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, and the book reviewer, Professor Maxwell Gidado SAN, praised Senator Bob’s courage in writing the book to bring to light the challenges the Nigerian legislator faces in the course of performing his duties.

The author Senator Bob enumerated some of the challenges, saying that they included electoral battles, conflict with governors/godfathers, the judiciary through cancellation of victory, addressing the private issues of the electorate and self-inflicted challenges.

“The courage to defend democracy is in the legislature and the legislators”, he said.