Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has urged Administrative Secretaries to reject shortcuts and political interference in the discharge of their duties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan gave the charge on Monday in Lagos at a Strategic Operational Workshop for INEC Administrative Secretaries from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the professionalism of state offices depended largely on the institutional culture created by Administrative Secretaries and their commitment to discipline, neutrality, punctuality and compliance.

The INEC chairman also urged the Administrative Secretaries to remain professionally competent and sufficiently knowledgeable to prevent anyone from taking advantage of them in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Amupitan said the Administrative Secretary remained a critical bridge between INEC policy and its implementation at the state level.

He said their responsibilities included ensuring institutional discipline, operational readiness, administrative continuity, proper documentation and early escalation of emerging challenges.

According to him, Administrative Secretaries must also support Electoral Officers, promote neutrality and protect the institutional independence of the Commission.

The chairman said lessons from recent off-cycle elections, particularly the Osun Governorship Election, had demonstrated that effective logistics, functional technology and administrative discipline were critical to credible elections.

Amupitan, however, said the success recorded in single-state elections must now be translated into a uniform national operational standard ahead of the general election.

He said the Commission was entering a critical six-month preparation window and could no longer afford fragmented interpretations of administrative responsibilities or divergent operational practices across states.

The chairman said the two-day workshop was designed to eliminate guesswork, harmonise operational strategies and ensure that Administrative Secretaries understood standardised national protocols.

He said the workshop would focus on Continuous Voter Registration and Permanent Voter Card distribution, logistics and election materials management, electoral technologies, human resources and ad-hoc staff optimisation and others.

Amupitan said particular attention would be given to institutional mastery of technologies including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), IReV, eEC8A, Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC), CROMS, IOMIS and PFRAS.

He said the Commission would also develop a standardised Excel-based Administrative Secretary Master Operational Tracker to provide a real-time picture of state-level election readiness.

According to him, the tracker will link with the EMSC dashboard and Election Project Plan, enabling relevant officers at the state and headquarters levels to monitor material distribution, ad-hoc staff training and other readiness indicators.

The chairman said the template would also provide a permanent onboarding framework for future Administrative Secretaries beyond the 2027 election.

He urged the participants to engage actively with facilitators and development partners, identify state-specific operational bottlenecks and leave the workshop with a clear understanding of their mandates.

Amupitan said the synergy between Administrative Secretaries and Resident Electoral Commissioners would be crucial to the smooth conduct of the 2027 General Election.

He commended the Office of the Secretary to the Commission and development partners for organising the workshop, describing it as timely and necessary for national electoral preparedness.

In his address, Prof. Ayobami Salami, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Lagos State, urged INEC Administrative Secretaries to strengthen coordination, accountability and operational readiness ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Salami stressed the need for strategic, systematic and collective preparation for the election.

He said Administrative Secretaries occupied a critical position in election administration, with their effectiveness having direct implications for the success of electoral operations.

Salami urged participants to share field experiences, identify operational gaps and develop practical solutions that could be applied in their respective states.

He said the ultimate value of the workshop would be measured by how effectively participants translated lessons from the sessions into improved operations, stronger accountability and resilient systems for the 2027 election.

Speaking, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, INEC Secretary, urged Administrative Secretaries to ensure greater synergy with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to enhance preparations for the 2027 General Election.

Oriaran-Anthony said the Commission had convened the workshop to ensure that its headquarters and state offices operated within the same framework and implemented the Election Project Plan in line with its expectations.

She said the workshop would provide a safe space for Administrative Secretaries to openly identify operational bottlenecks, particularly those affecting their working relationships with RECs, and collectively develop solutions.

According to her, logistics, recruitment and training of ad-hoc personnel, financial and asset management, staff discipline and mastery of electoral technologies would be central to the workshop.

She said getting these areas right would make the 2027 election easier to administer. (NAN)

A support group for Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso and other Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) flag bearers, has inaugurated its national coordinators for the 36 states of the federation and FCT in Abuja.

This was contained in a statement issues by the founder of the group, Innocent Onwenkendi, in Abuja on Monday.

The group, under the aegis of Nigeria Democratic Congress Women Support Group (NDCWSG), said the aim was to mobilise women nationwide for the victory of NDC presidential candidate, Obi in the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking at the inauguration of the state coordinators in Abuja, Onwenkendi, said the movement was committed to the victory of Obi and other NDC candidates in the upcoming elections.

He said women needed opportunities and support to enable them to contribute positively to the economy, adding that this could only be achieved through good leadership.

“The vision is to empower women because they are a strong and important part of the society, but unfortunately, they have not been adequately carried along, just like the youths.

“We want a government that can meet the needs of women by providing opportunities and support that will improve their lives and reduce their sufferings.

“If you go into the streets today, you will see women struggling and, in some cases, begging to survive. But with good people in leadership, things will work out better.

“God has blessed Nigeria with abundant resources and everything we need, but bad governance and poor management have continued to hold the country back.

“For me, mobilising women across the country for the NDC’s victory shows that I have confidence in the candidates. I believe they have what it takes to deliver, and I hope they will not disappoint the people,” Onwenkendi said.

In her inaugural speech, the Director-General of the group, Dr Rose Okere said the support group was not a political party but a solid platform committed to the NDC victory.

She commended its founder for investing in the movement and the executives for working assiduously to actualise the group’s vision.

“We have come a long way with this group. I give thanks to the founder and all the executives who have been working assiduously to actualise this dream.

“This group was formed mainly for women and it has embraced all the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory.

“We have state coordinators and structures at the state, local government, ward and polling-unit levels.

“We are rooting for the victory of our presidential candidate and his running mate and all those contesting under NDC. We are visible in all the 36 states of the federation.

“Women say they will no longer remain in their comfort zones while their children are suffering; hungry and with temptation to take to vices.

“We have to wage a battle for a better society. We have all of them. We have a solid structure formed by this great movement,” she said.

Okere further said that the proponents of the group felt it was wise to include the youths in the struggle.

“The organisation equally has a youth wing, with youths from all 36 states embedded in the movement,” she said.

According to her the group’s assignment has been made easier by the perceived not very impressive performance of the federal government.

“We need credible people and leaders with empathy to lead us. All the NDC flag bearers will have our support,” she said.

The group D-G said that it would continue to sensitise women and youths and all voters in the rural communities on the side of NDC candidates.

“We shall also tell them that our presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has long left the Labour Party and we will equally educate them on why they must not sell their votes,” she said.

Okere commended all the NDC members for their steadfastness, and the party’s governorship candidate in Imo, Ngozi Olehie, for his position on transparency and accountability.

She thanked Olehie for his commitment especially, his sponsorship of the national engagement in Abuja.

Mohammed Sakburkyain, a party chieftain and organiser of the northern women sub-group, lauded the women for their unwavering support for a better Nigeria. (NAN)

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has warned the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against choosing Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso as running mate, alleging that the former NNPP presidential candidate could eventually turn against them.

The NNPP said Kwankwaso’s political differences with the party after contesting the 2023 presidential election on its platform should serve as a warning to the NDC.

The party’s National Secretary-General, Ogini Olaposi, stated this in a statement on Monday, describing Obi’s choice of Kwankwaso as running mate as a “gross mistake.

Olaposi said the NDC should have considered Kwankwaso’s political history before settling for him as Obi’s running mate.

He said: “This is why political parties must be careful of who they choose as running mates and flag bearers.

“Kwankwaso dragged a party that brought him to the limelight in the presidential contest, freely gave him a platform and did all it could to support him, and now thinks he is free from the wrath of God?

“Once a betrayer, always a betrayer, and posterity will prove us right.”

Olaposi alleged that Kwankwaso turned against the NNPP after the 2023 presidential election despite the opportunity provided by the party for him to contest on its platform.

“The rare opportunity NNPP gave to Kwankwaso in 2023, in addition to a free ticket, is what has brought him to the frontline of negotiations at the presidential level in Nigeria at the moment,” he said.

He further alleged that Kwankwaso’s actions contributed to the internal crisis in the NNPP and the departure of some members from the party.

“We will not forget in a hurry how he destroyed the party, leading to our members leaving in droves. He will betray the NDC in the same manner shortly,” Olaposi alleged.

The NNPP chieftain also rejected claims that the party was handed over to Kwankwaso by its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam.

“It is preposterous and unthinkable to assert that we dashed what belongs to the Board of Trustees of a registered political party out, without handing over the original certificate of registration,” he said.

Olaposi also argued that Obi’s popularity alone would not guarantee victory for the NDC in the 2027 election, saying voters would also consider the political antecedents of his running mate.

“One candidate in a party alone cannot guarantee victory. People will also look at the antecedents of the running mate because, in the event of any happenstance, the vice-president may become the president.

“Nigerians know this and the NDC will understand it at the polls,” he said.

He also dismissed large crowds at political rallies as an indication of electoral strength, saying attendance at rallies did not necessarily translate into votes.

“Pulling rented crowds at rallies is not tantamount to votes. The same crowd will be paid to be everywhere else,” Olaposi said.

Olaposi urged the founder of the NDC, Seriake Dickson, to remain vigilant and protect the party’s structure.

“It is our hope that Seriake Dickson, founder of NDC, shall be on the alert and ensure that his co-founders are duly activated to protect the structure of NDC from Kwankwaso,” he said.

He also appealed to NNPP members who had left the party to return ahead of the 2027 general elections.