The Senate on Wednesday approved a major adjustment to Nigeria’s electoral timetable, reducing the period within which the Independent National Electoral Commission is required to publish the notice of election from 360 days to 180 days.

The decision followed the adoption of an amendment moved by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Tahir Monguno, who proposed that the earlier requirement of 360 days be reviewed downward to six months.

The change was made during clause-by-clause consideration of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, which lawmakers subjected to scrutiny in a session that lasted about four and a half hours.

Consideration of the bill commenced at about 2 p.m. and stretched until 6:26 p.m., underscoring the intensity of deliberations on the wide-ranging electoral reforms contained in the proposed legislation.

The Electoral Act amendment bill was the only item listed on the Senate’s Order Paper for the day, following a valedictory session held in honour of the late former lawmaker, Okey Ezea.

At the Committee of the Whole, senators reviewed all 155 clauses of the bill, approving the legislation after adopting the committee’s report.

While several provisions of the existing Electoral Act were amended to reflect emerging realities in Nigeria’s electoral process, the majority of the clauses were retained as originally proposed.

The reduction in the notice period is expected to give INEC greater operational flexibility while still providing sufficient time for political parties, candidates and other stakeholders to prepare ahead of general elections, as the National Assembly continues efforts to fine-tune the country’s electoral legal framework ahead of future polls.

By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Prince Adewole Adebayo, leader and former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), on Monday declared that the Nigerian Police Force is a direct reflection of Nigeria’s development, history and future, urging the nation to invest boldly in policing if it truly desires peace at home and credibility abroad.

Adebayo made the remarks in Lagos at a two-day symposium on “The Nigeria Police Force and the Peace Process in Africa,” organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).

The event brought together key security and policy leaders, including the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Director-General of the NIIA, Professor Eghosa Emmanuel Osaghae.

“Nigerian police is like a shadow following Nigeria,” Adebayo said in his lead address.

“If there is any aspect of policing you are not satisfied with, it is simply a reflection of our life at a particular time. To have a better police, we must have a better society, because the police is a reflection of what the society is.”

Tracing the roots of the force to Lagos in 1861, Adebayo noted that the Nigerian Police was international in outlook from inception, having been created to secure trade routes and protect global commercial interests along the coast.

According to him, decades of military rule and poor democratic prioritisation weakened investment in policing, even though the police remained the “guardian of democracy.”
He stressed that effective policing is impossible without peace, good laws, strong community relations and serious capacity building. “Good policing costs money,” Adebayo said.

“You cannot praise the police in speeches and budget poorly for them. Forensics, helicopters, investigations — these things cost billions. If you want the police of your dreams, send your best and most courageous children to the force.”

Earlier, NIIA Director-General Professor Osagie delivered a sweeping historical account of Nigeria’s global peacekeeping footprint, describing the Nigerian Police Force as one of the most experienced peacekeeping institutions in the world.

From Congo in 1960 to Kosovo, East Timor, Somalia, Sudan, Haiti and beyond, Osagie said Nigerian police officers have played extraordinary roles in restoring peace, often rising to command positions within the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS missions.

“The only police force that comes close to Nigeria in peacekeeping operations is India,” he said.

“It is not only when we sleep well in Nigeria that we remember the police, but when Liberia, Senegal or Kosovo sleep well too.”

Osagie praised Inspector General Egbetokun for expanding Nigeria’s international policing presence and announced plans for an International Centre for Peacekeeping in partnership with the Police Force.

He acknowledged existing domestic challenges but insisted that the police have undergone remarkable transformation over the past two decades in skills, training and professionalism.
In his keynote address, IGP Kayode Egbetokun highlighted Nigeria’s enduring commitment to multilateral peacekeeping, noting that over 12,000 Nigerian police officers have served across multiple continents under the UN, AU and regional missions.
“The true impact of peacekeeping is not always captured in reports,” Egbetokun said.

“It is seen when schools reopen, markets return and public trust is restored.”

He outlined the evolving challenges facing modern peace operations, including terrorism, transnational crime, cyber threats and resource constraints, but described them as “imperatives for reform, innovation and partnership.”

According to the police chief, Nigeria’s future peacekeeping strategy will focus on specialised capabilities, institutional modernisation, regional integration, research collaboration with institutions like the NIIA, and sustained police reform at home.

“International credibility is inseparable from domestic professionalism, accountability and respect for human rights,” Egbetokun said.

“Nigeria will not retreat from responsibility. We will stand, credibly and consistently, on the side of peace.”

The symposium ended with a call for deeper collaboration between policymakers, security agencies and civil society, as speakers agreed that Nigeria’s role in global peacekeeping remains both a national pride and a solemn obligation to future generations.

By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over what he described as “fiscal recklessness” in the management of Nigeria’s national budgets.

In a statement posted on his official X account on Monday, Obi questioned which budget Nigeria is currently operating, ahead of the expected approval of the 2026 national budget by the Senate on March 17.

He noted that since 2023, Nigeria has been implementing budget items from multiple fiscal years simultaneously, describing the practice as abnormal and harmful to public finance management.

According to Obi, President Bola Tinubu inherited a N21.

83 trillion budget in 2023 but later introduced a N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, which he said prioritised benefits for public office holders despite widespread economic hardship.

He further stated that the pattern continued with the approval of N35.06 trillion for 2024 and N54.99 trillion for 2025, bringing total appropriations under the current administration to over N114 trillion in less than three years.

Obi expressed concern that despite the massive spending, budget implementation has remained below 50 per cent, leading to what he described as a crisis of credibility in public finance.

He also criticised the government’s decision to repeal and re-enact the 2024 and 2025 budgets with extended timelines, saying Nigerians were not provided with details of the revised budgets or their capital projects.

The former Anambra State governor accused the Federal Government of lacking transparency, alleging that treasury reports were no longer being published on the OpenTreasury.gov.ng platform and that no budget implementation report was released in 2025.

Obi warned that no country could succeed under such fiscal practices and called on the government to restore discipline in budget management.

“This lack of transparency is not accidental; it reflects a deliberate pattern of undermining public scrutiny and debate.

“The Federal Government has stopped publishing treasury reports on the OpenTreasury.gov.ng portal, dismantling a vital transparency framework inherited from the previous administration.

“In 2025, no budget implementation report was released, regardless of how poor the performance was! No nation can operate with such recklessness and succeed,” Obi said.