By Our Correspondent

As preparations for 2027 general elections, gathers momentum,Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has warned Nigerians against vote buying and other forms of electoral inducement, describing the growing monetisation of the political process as a major threat to democratic governance and national development.

Olukoyede issued the warning on Wednesday while delivering the inaugural lecture of the High-Level Guest Speakers’ Series organised by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies at the University of Ilorin, where he called for a collective national effort to ensure peaceful, credible and transparent elections in 2027.

Speaking on the theme, “Mobilising Critical Stakeholders for Setting the Agenda for Peaceful and Credible 2027 Elections in Nigeria,” the EFCC boss said the Commission remained committed to combating electoral corruption, particularly vote buying, vote selling and other forms of financial influence that compromise the integrity of elections.

According to him, the commercialisation of the electoral process weakens democratic institutions by distorting the political recruitment process and producing leaders who are more concerned with recovering campaign expenditures than delivering good governance.

“The EFCC is opposed to commercialisation of votes not only because it is a financial crime, but because it weakens the foundation of good governance by compromising the political recruitment process.

“Leaders who pay their way into public office are unlikely to prioritise public good and accountability. Rather, recouping their investments becomes the overarching objective, to the detriment of the common good,” he said.

Olukoyede disclosed that the anti-graft agency had secured several arrests, prosecutions and convictions involving politicians, electoral officials and citizens linked to vote-buying schemes in recent years.

He assured Nigerians that the Commission would intensify surveillance and enforcement measures ahead of the next general elections.

He stressed that electoral offences involving financial inducement would continue to attract prosecution regardless of the status of those involved.

The EFCC chairman also raised concerns about the evolving nature of electoral corruption, noting that perpetrators have adopted increasingly sophisticated methods to evade detection.

According to him, vote buying is no longer limited to cash exchanges at polling units, as some political actors now rely on coded communications, covert transactions and off-site arrangements to influence voters before election day.

“Vote buying manifests not just through financial inducement of voters but also through other material and commodity offers. Investigations are pointing to the fact that some of these criminal activities are no longer being carried out in the open.

“They are not even being done on election days. Codes are being used covertly, and linkages are being established with voters outside the electoral framework in a bid to influence them,” he said.

Olukoyede said the Commission was fully aware of these emerging tactics and was strengthening its capacity to detect and disrupt such schemes in order to protect the integrity of future elections.

He identified stronger collaboration among stakeholders, strict enforcement of electoral laws, issue-based political campaigns, responsible media engagement, professional security operations and effective conflict-resolution mechanisms as critical requirements for credible elections.

The anti-corruption chief urged political parties to reject vote buying and embrace decency in political campaigns, warning that inflammatory rhetoric and divisive politics had contributed significantly to electoral violence in previous election cycles.

He also challenged media organisations to play a more active role in exposing vote-buying networks and other forms of electoral corruption, while calling on security agencies to remain neutral and professional throughout the electoral process.

According to him, coordinated security planning and proactive deployment of resources would help minimise electoral risks and strengthen public confidence in democratic institutions.

Earlier, Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, G. A. Animasawun, said the lecture series was designed to create a platform for identifying and addressing threats to Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 elections.

He noted that the Centre intends to move beyond academic discussions by promoting practical solutions capable of strengthening electoral integrity, peace and national security.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, described electoral corruption as a major national security concern and called for stronger institutional collaboration to tackle electoral malpractice.

Egbewole commended the EFCC’s preventive approach to combating electoral corruption and proposed a strategic partnership between the Commission and the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies to advance research, training and policy development on the relationship between electoral corruption and national security.

By Our Correspondent

Deputy of the President of the Senate, Senator Barau I Jibrin has urged universities and other tertiary institutions in the country to prioritise research and its commercialisation as done by higher institutions in developed nations.

Senator Barau made the call when he received the management of the North West University, Kano led by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Amina Salihi Bayero, at the National Assembly, Abuja.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, he urged the management of the country’s higher institutions to diversify their revenue sources through the commercialisation of research.

Senator Barau, who chaired the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND in the Eighth Senate, said ” Do not leave innovations in laboratories or bookshelves. Patent them and create value from them.

“Top global institutions like Harvard, MIT and Cornell leverage research, collaborate with industries, and generate revenue through innovation. I encourage you to adopt this model.”

He noted that sustaining and developing higher education is a venture that requires collective effort and not a single entity.

” Maintaining and developing a university is not something that can be assured by just a single entity or person. It needs the assistance, intervention and cooperation of all,” he said, adding that even institutions established and funded by the Federal Government routinely seek external support.

Highlighting the importance of human capital, the Deputy President of the Senate said education must remain a top priority.

“Human capital is the key driver of development globally. It is no longer about resources like petroleum or solid minerals. The number one factor of production in any nation is human capital,” he said.

Praising the Vice-Chancellor’s proactive approach and the university’s rapid growth since its establishment in 2012, he announced the donation of a coaster bus to the institution.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Amina Salihi Bayero who assumed office in December 2025, said the visit was to explore ways of collaboration between the university and the office of the Deputy President of the Senate.

She commended the contributions of the Deputy President of the Senate to the country’s education sector through numerous interventions including scholarships and grants, and the provision of critical infrastructure to higher institutions.

She said the university which started with a faculty at inception now has ten faculties and a student population of thirty thousand.

By David Owei, Bayelsa

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has signed the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and the Bayelsa Medical University Teaching Hospital (BMUTH) Bills into law.

Governor Diri assented to the bills on Wednesday during the 188th state executive council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted him as describing the PWDs legislation as “profound” and “the people’s law” as it guarantees dignity, equal opportunity, and fair treatment for all Bayelsans regardless of physical condition.

The governor commended the sponsor of the bill, Dr. Charles Daniel, member representing Brass Constituency I in the House of Assembly, for his persistence, describing it as one of the best legislations from the state legislature.

He also lauded the Speaker and members of the Assembly for the speedy passage of the bill, noting that the law would address the exclusion of persons with disabilities in public and private infrastructure.

His words: “I had directed the Deputy Governor when he was the Chief of Staff to initiate an Executive Bill that would take care of our brothers and sisters living with disability. I was later informed there was already a private member bill sponsored by Dr. Daniel, and so I directed the executive arm to work with him. That is the product we have today.

“For me, this is one of the best pieces of legislation that has come out of the State House of Assembly.

“I commend members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the very hard working Speaker for giving very quick attention to this bill and passing it with the speed of light.”

The governor acknowledged that PWDs in the state recognised government’s interventions even before the law, adding that his administration’s performance would not be measured by physical projects alone.

According to him, “we often build houses and public infrastructure without considering the entrance and parking spaces for our brothers and sisters with disability.

“I’m happy that the chairman of the PWDs association has acknowledged most of what this government has been doing, even without this law, to ensure that we do not leave them out.”

The new law is expected to strengthen protection, access, and inclusion for PWDs in the state .

On the bill formally establishing the Bayelsa Medical University Teaching Hospital (BMUTH), Governor Diri said the law ends years of debate over the need for a second teaching hospital in the state.

“So, from today we have established a teaching hospital, an institution of its own for the medical university.

“There was a time we even debated in this chamber whether it is economically wise to have two teaching hospitals in our state, because we already had the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital.”

He contended that the decision was anchored on necessity, stating that the state cannot have a medical university without a teaching hospital.

Earlier, the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon Abraham Ingobere, said the PWDs Agency Bill had its first reading on October 15, 2024 and its third reading and passage on March 18, 2026

Ingobere said the agency would have a part-time chairman to be appointed by the governor and a Director-General that would oversee its day-to-day running and shall be a person with disability.

The Speaker stated that when established, the agency would ensure that facilities such as public transport, public parking lots and public buildings shall be accessible to persons with disabilities.

He also said that one out of 10 seats in a public bus shall be for physically challenged persons while suitable spaces shall be properly marked and reserved for such persons in public parking lots.

Speaking on behalf of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disability, Bayelsa State Chapter, the chairman, Mr. Mayor Doutiminariye, said the governor was a father and has ensured from the inception of his administration that physically challenged persons enjoy the protection and recognition of the state government.

Mr. Doutiminariye thanked the governor for performing what he described as a “miracle” for them in signing the bill into law.

At the meeting, the governor also announced the dissolution of the board of Bayelsa United Football Club as well as the sacking of the technical crew following the team’s relegation from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to the Nigerian National League (NNL).

He said an interim management would be constituted to oversee the team’s reorganisation and facilitate its immediate return to the top flight of Nigerian football.

He directed that all affected board members, coaches and officials hand over the club’s property in their possession to the Commissioner for Sports Development without delay.