By Our Correspondent

The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele on Tuesday disclosed that the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act, 2022 would be concluded on or before December 2025, assuring Nigerians that the amendment would be used for the 2027 general elections.
Bamidele, also representing Ekiti Central in the Senate, explained that the only reason the Muhammadu Buhari administration was unable to sign the last aspect of the electoral amendment Bill was because the National Assembly transmitted it late to the Presidency then.
He disclosed this in a statement he made after the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio read President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s request to confirm Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN) as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Tinubu had nominated Amupitan, a Professor of Law, after the Council of States unanimously approved his appointment as the new INEC chairman last Wednesday following the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
After the Council of States unanimously approved Amupitan’s appointment, President Tinubu formally requested the upper chamber to confirm Amupitan as the chairman of the country’s electoral commission.
In his statement on Tuesday, Bamidele noted that the only reason the previous administration did not sign the last aspect of the Electoral Bill in 2022 was because it was transmitted to the Presidency late.
He further explained: “Before then, we had made our first proposal. We sent the bill to the then president, and it was signed. When further observations were made especially when certain people were disenfranchised as statutory delegates and the National Assembly wanted to make corrections, late former President Muhammadu Buhari said the bill was coming too close to election.
“And late President Buhari then observed that he did not want to be misunderstood by the public. That is why the bill was not signed then. Between now and December 2025, we will ensure that the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2022 is concluded so that it will not be too close to the 2027 Elections.”
Speaking on the review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (amended) Bamidele further assured Nigerians that the present review would scale through because relevant stakeholders, especially Nigerian Governors Forum and Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, were meaningfully engaged in the overriding public interests.
Bamidele, also Vice Chairman of the 1999 Constitution Review Committee in the Senate, dismissed speculations that the presidency would resist the effort of the National Assembly to successfully amend the grundnorm.
According to him, I do not envisage that there will be any resistance because public institutions are working with the National Assembly for the successful review of the 1999 Constitution. In this amendment, global best practices will also be taken into consideration in the area of domestication of international treaties and agreements
On the issue of criticism by the opposition, Bamidele noted that no matter how well a government was performing, the opposition would never agree that the government was doing well because they too were plotting to reclaim the presidency.
He further explained: “Part of what they will love to see is to see the ruling party fighting on a daily basis, throwing out correspondences from the presidency or whatever is coming from the executive. That is what will make them happy. But our focus is on rebuilding Nigeria, stabilising our polity and growing our economy. And we will never be distracted from this goal.
On the agenda of the 10th Senate for the third legislative year, Bamidele said that the National Assembly “has a lot of issues to deal with in this session, ranging from the amendment of the 2022 Electoral Act to the review of the 1999 Constitution, among others.”

By George Mgbeleke
The Senate, on Thursday at plenary, passed for second reading, a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Eradication (NAME), an initiative, aimed at holistically addressing the country’s worrisome menace of malaria.

The bill titled: “A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Agency for Malaria Eradication and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB. 172),” was sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North) and presented during plenary session.

Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, Nwoko noted that, according to the World Health Organisation’s 2024 report, Nigeria accounted for over 184,000 out of 600,000 annual global malaria deaths, representing the highest in the world.

The lawmaker described the situation as worrisome and undoubtedly a national emergency requiring immediate and coordinated legislative action.

He observed that malaria is not merely a public health issue but a structural crisis that impairs maternal health, drains economic productivity, and impedes national development.

According to him, the disease was responsible for approximately 11% of maternal deaths in Nigeria, contributing to miscarriages, infant deaths, stillbirths, and severe anaemia.

The politician stressed that beyond the health impact, the economic toll, including the loss of millions of man-hours, reduced business productivity, and a growing burden on healthcare infrastructure.

The bill proposed a centralised and autonomous agency tasked with coordinating national malaria eradication efforts.

The agency will also have the mandate to formulate and implement national policies on malaria eradication, coordinate inter-agency and sectoral responses with legal authority, mobilise and manage resources efficiently and transparently as well as support vaccine research and genetic innovations targeting malaria.

Senator Nwoko faulted the current structure of malaria control in Nigeria, describing it as fragmented and ineffective, stating that the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) lacked operational capacity while also saying that the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has limited reach.

“A fragmented structure cannot confront a mutating threat. We need a unified, science-driven, and legislatively backed institution with the singular mandate to end malaria in Nigeria,” he declared.

The legislator cited the global urgency and funding mobilised during the COVID-19 pandemic, wondering why the global inaction on malaria.

“If malaria were endemic to Europe or North America, we would not still be grappling with it a century later,” he said.

After his presentation, the bill received support across party lines from lawmakers including Senators Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central), Ede Dafinone (APC, Delta Central), Babangida Oseni (APC, Jigawa North West), and Onyewuchi Francis (LP, Imo East), who all endorsed the proposed agency as a bold and overdue step toward malaria elimination.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North) referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health for further legislative action, mandating the Panel to submit its report to the Chamber within four weeks.

End.

By Our Reporter

In celebration of its past heroes, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has declared May 30th, 2025, a total lockdown in Southeast geopolitical zone in memory of Biafran heroes and heroines who died in the course of Biafran Independence.

In a statement made available to newsmen by the IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the movement said, “The public holiday and lockdown is an annual memorial and remembrance day for Biafra heroes and heroines among Biafrans. Anticipation has begun as of May 1, 2025, with broadcasts from Radio Biafra and media awareness efforts by the IPOB media team.

“This month, IPOB will involve our audience in memorial lectures honoring Biafran heroes, both at home and abroad, just like in earlier years. The peak of the yearly memorial and remembrance event will occur on may 30th, 2025, known as the BIAFRA HEROES MEMORIAL DAY. It is a day designated by IPOB for Biafrans to commemorate and pay tribute to our heroes, heroines, and those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for Biafra’s liberation and independence.

The statement reads in parts,”The IPOB leadership has announced that May 30, 2025, will be a free day, marking a total lockdown for Biafrans residing in Biafran Land.

Biafrans residing in Biafra Land should observe a lockdown to pay tribute to those who battled and perished in the Nigeria genocidal war against Biafra while Biafrans fought for our independence. We need to commemorate them by spending one day indoors.

” We urge all Biafrans and every advocate of freedom in Biafra Land to comply with this one-day lockdown directive on May 30, 2025. All IPOB family members in their various countries must organize and obtain permits to demonstrate against the unlawful imprisonment of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the illegal detention of Nnamdi Kanu in Nigeria.

” NOTICE! (No protests will take place in Biafra or anywhere in Nigeria to prevent being harmed by the lethal Nigerian Security Forces).
Biafrans abroad will gather in the streets of their host countries or organize town hall meetings to express their support in honoring our fallen heroes and advocating for the restoration of Biafra.

“IPOB and Ndigbo across the globe will pay tribute to all our fallen heroes and heroines, including our everlasting leader, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Gen Phillip Efiong, Chief Dr Frank Opigo, Commander Ikonso, and numerous others who significantly contributed and fought to avert the genocide and destruction of Biafrans by the Nigerian and British governments along with their allied forces.

” Every year on May 30th is a significant day for all Biafrans. It is a public holiday for every citizen and non-citizen of Biafra living in Biafra territory. According to these directives, with the exception of critical and emergency personnel such as ambulance drivers, police officers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, journalists, and NUPENG, are permitted to work that day, while other forms of movement are banned on the streets of Biafra from 6 am to 6 pm on that day.

” All transportation by road, air, and sea is prohibited from 6am to 6pm on May 30, 2025, which includes no human movement within our territory. There will be no school, no community meetings, no religious services, no opening of markets and stores, and no public assemblies of any kind.

“Simply stay inside and enjoy television and videos with your family while contemplating the memories and the genocide inflicted upon Biafrans from 1967 to the present day. It is a day for families to recount their experiences of the Biafran genocidal war from 1967 to 1970 and the ongoing victimization, destruction, and marginalization of the Ndigbo within Nigeria.

“IPOB has already contacted WAEC, the West African Examination Council, to inform them of the lockdown directive in Biafran Land on the 30th of May, so they can modify the May/June SSSE exams schedule to serve all students.

“Messages have also been dispatched to the Governors in the South East and South South Regions to notify them that we will remember and pay tribute to our heroes and heroines who sacrificed everything for us with a lockdown mandate on May 30, 2025.

“IPOB implemented the lockdown directive due to the Nigerian violent government attacking and killing numerous Biafrans who assembled to honor our heroes in Biafra Land in previous years. We recommend that everyone refrain from going outside and remain indoors in your homes on May 30th to steer clear of gunfire from the ethnic prejudice of the Nigerian Police and Military, who will be present on the streets of Biafra seeking any chance to unjustly shed the blood of innocent Biafrans.

“If you decide to ignore this lockdown order, whatever occurs to you, please hold no one responsible. IPOB prioritizes the well-being of Ndigbo and has discovered methods to prevent the Nigerian State from killing our people as we continue to remember and celebrate our heroes. All transporters must refrain from using the roads on Friday, May 30, 2025,” the movement warned.