By Joseph Mbah,Abuja

House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology has accused the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh of
undermining President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to establish a National Research and Innovation Development Fund in Nigeria.

Unhappy with submission of the Minister, Lawmakers there after threatened to escalate the matter to the floor of the House where necessary palaimentary sanction will be melted out to the duo.

The C’ttee also expressed displeasure over the Minister failure to attend a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish the Fund (HB 2821), despite being the head of the ministry directly responsible for its implementation.

It also faulted the ministry for failing to send the Permanent Secretary to represent it, describing the absence as unacceptable, particularly as the bill was sponsored by the executive and transmitted to the National Assembly by President Tinubu.

The committee chairman Hon. Zakariya Zannah used the opportunity to warn that the ministry’s failure to participate in the legislative process could delay the passage of the bill and frustrate efforts to position Nigeria to attract research grants from international development partners, donor agencies and Nigerians in the diaspora.

During the hearing, a member of the committee, Hon. Ahmed Usman Jaha, who represents Chibok, Damboa and Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno State, described the ministry’s absence as an act of sabotage against the cordial relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.

Jaha, speaking on behalf of the committee, said it was difficult to understand why a ministry whose portfolio directly covered the subject of an executive-sponsored bill would fail to participate in its consideration.

He said the proposed Fund was designed to coordinate and finance research institutions across the country while providing a structured mechanism for attracting grants from international organisations, development partners and Nigerians in the diaspora.

According to him, similar funding arrangements have helped advance research and innovation in several countries, making Nigeria’s proposed framework long overdue.

“Unfortunately, some members of the executive are by extension sabotaging this relationship. The reason why I call it sabotage is that I see no reason whereby the executive can present a bill to the House for consideration, and that bill has national importance, but the ministry responsible for it will not show up,”

By George Mgbeleke

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has urged Nigerians to trust his leadership to deliver free, fair, and credible general elections in 2027, pointing to measurable operational improvements recorded in recent off-cycle polls and new technical safeguards designed to prevent a repeat of the 2023 election controversies.

In a statement signed by his Media Adviser,Adedayo Oketola, Prof. Amupitan spoke on Thursday at Chatham House, London, during a high-level dialogue convened in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) under the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”

Addressing the trust deficit left by the 2023 presidential election, the INEC Chairman acknowledged that the controversies surrounding that exercise severely dented public confidence in the electoral body—damage from which the Commission is still working to recover.

“First and foremost, let me speak about what happened in 2023, which resulted in a significant trust deficit for INEC—damage so large that the Commission has not yet fully recovered from it,” he said.

However, Prof. Amupitan, who assumed office in October 2025, noted that the Commission had treated every subsequent election as a practical laboratory to identify operational weaknesses and strengthen accreditation, voting, and result management.

Responding to a question on why Nigerians should trust his leadership ahead of 2027, he cited the successful conduct of the Anambra and Osun governorship elections, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council polls, the Ekiti governorship election, and 16 legislative by-elections.

“Why must Nigerians trust me? Nigerians must trust me because, number one, I have conducted off-cycle elections—and observers agree that the recent election in Osun State marked a clear improvement,” he said. “Every election is a lesson. The 2023 general election was a major lesson for Nigeria, and the Anambra election was another.”

He noted that Anambra and Osun previously had histories of prolonged, inconclusive governorship contests—recalling that the 2021 Anambra governorship poll took roughly five days to conclude—whereas targeted administrative reforms under his watch enabled results in both states to be declared the day after voting.

New Safeguards on IReV and Collation
Highlighting insecurity, logistics, and result management as INEC’s three top priorities for 2027, Prof. Amupitan revealed that the Commission’s post-2023 audit traced the most acute result management failures to collation centres rather than polling units.

To eliminate discrepancies between polling unit figures and collation sheets, he announced that INEC has built strict validation safeguards into its system so that inaccurate results or figures reflecting over-voting cannot be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

“We found that the core problem of election result management and declaration in Nigeria is not even at the polling unit—it is at the collation centres,” he explained. “In 2023, there were instances of inaccurate results or results with over-voting being uploaded onto IReV. We have now devised a technical safeguard: if a result is not accurate at the polling unit, it will not go to IReV at all.

“The moment a result appears on IReV, citizens can trust what they see. By eliminating inconsistencies at the source, collation will become a transparent formality.”

Prof. Amupitan disclosed that while INEC considered introducing an entirely new electoral technology for 2027, it opted instead to upgrade and harden its existing infrastructure due to the tight operational timeline before the polls.

Addressing malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) linked to extreme heat and storage conditions in 2023, he announced that INEC is constructing climate-controlled storage facilities across all states. Additionally, the Commission has procured extra devices and reduced the maximum number of voters assigned per BVAS machine from 1,250 to 850, ensuring polling units exceeding 850 registered voters are deployed with multiple devices.

To test these upgrades ahead of the polls, Prof. Amupitan announced a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise scheduled for November 28, 2026.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he stated.

On election financing, the Chairman confirmed that while INEC has received a substantial portion of its 2027 election budget, it awaits the release of the outstanding balance—part of which is earmarked for the recruitment and welfare of ad hoc personnel—and has received assurances that the funds will be released before the end of November.

Addressing questions regarding his neutrality following social media allegations linking his phone number to a controversial X (formerly Twitter) account, Prof. Amupitan categorically denied ever operating an X account. He noted that an independent forensic review had been obtained and the matter formally referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector-General of Police for investigation.

He also dismissed suggestions that his past legal representation in political disputes would compromise his impartiality, stressing that he acted strictly within his professional duties as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria prior to his appointment.

“My loyalty is solely to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act,” he affirmed. “Every constitutional institution—including the Presidency, the National Assembly, and state governors—owes its primary loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.”

On concerns regarding alleged voter register anomalies, including claims of an 85 per cent surge in registrants in a ward in Ebonyi State, he stated that the Commission had already investigated and resolved the complaint in line with statutory procedures, noting that the Electoral Act provides clear windows for public claims, objections, and requests for certified true copies of the register.

Concluding his remarks, Prof. Amupitan urged Nigerian youths to stay actively involved in the democratic process and guard against digital disinformation.

“This country belongs to young Nigerians, and they must not relent in working for the Nigeria they desire,” he said. “Misinformation remains one of the greatest threats to our democracy. Citizens must verify information before acting or sharing, and give our democracy the chance to succeed.”

The 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will be held on February 6, 2027.

By John Nwafor

The management of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has declared a three-day mourning period following the tragic death of four fresh graduates who reportedly died after attending an off-campus house party in Nsukka, Enugu State.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Ortuanya, disclosed this while addressing journalists on the incident, which occurred on November 11, 2026, explaining that 10 students of the university attended the gathering organised to celebrate one of their friends who had completed his final-year examination.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, four of the students died after allegedly consuming substances suspected to be alcohol and drugs, while the remaining six are currently receiving medical treatment at different hospitals.

Describing the incident as “a death too many”, Ortuanya announced that all social and academic activities would be suspended across the university during the three-day mourning period.

“Within these three days, all social and academic activities will be suspended in the University,” he said.

He also announced the suspension of a town hall meeting earlier scheduled between the university community and the Governor of Enugu State.

The Vice-Chancellor extended the university management’s condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased, assuring them of the institution’s solidarity in their moment of grief.

“The Management, staff and the students of the University of Nigeria share in their grief at this difficult moment and pray for the repose of the souls of the departed,” Ortuanya said.

He also clarified that the students involved in the incident came from different departments, dismissing reports suggesting that all the victims were from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Reiterating the university’s ban on all forms of sign-out celebrations, the Vice-Chancellor urged students to avoid activities that could put their lives at risk.

He further disclosed that the university was cooperating with security agencies to establish the actual circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The tragedy has renewed concerns over students’ safety and the risks associated with substance use at social gatherings, as investigations continue to determine the precise cause of the deaths.