The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday called for the quick prosecution of all those arrested for vote-buying during the Ekiti State governorship election.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the call during a meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Committee on Election Security in Abuja.

He said he was satisfied with the conduct of security agencies during the election, and that the speedy prosecution of culprits of vote-buying will serve as a deterrent for others.

“Vote busying remains a major area of concern. We appreciate the role played by anti-corruption and security agencies,” he said.

“We are working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure the prosecution of persons arrested in the Ekiti governorship election.”

The INEC Chairman also highlighted the commission’s activities lined up for the forthcoming Osun State scheduled for July 16.

According to him, INEC is committed to the conduct of pre-election activities to perfect the Osun polls.

“The Commission is deploying a readiness assessment team to Osun State next week to assess our preparations. We will visit some of our local government offices in the state, hold meetings with our staff, we will also observe the mock accreditation of voters in some polling units across the three senatorial districts in the state,” the INEC Chairman added.

The Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ifeanyi Okowa has reportedly informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that his WAEC certificate is missing.

It was gathered that Okowa informed INEC about the missing certificate as part of his filings for eligibility in the race for the 2023 elections.

He said in an affidavit to that effect that he enrolled and sat for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) West African School Certificate (WASC) examinations in the year 1974.

The original certificate issued can no more be found however, he added in the affidavit.

The affidavit of loss of original certificate was obtained from the High Court of Justice, Delta State, in the Asaba Judicial Division on October 3, 2006.

“That I personally enrolled and sat for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) West African School Certificate (WASC) examinations in the year 1974 at Edo College, Benin City, in now Edo state,” The Delta State Governor was reported to have said in the affidavit according to Tribune.

“That I passed the said examinations and was subsequently issued the said certificate therefore. That the original of the said certificate issued to me is now missing, lost and cannot be found.

“That I make this oath for the records and do so knowing and believing the same to be true and in accordance with the Oaths Law of the Bendel State as applicable to Delta state,” he added.

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Saturday assured Nigerians that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidency would handle Nigerian diversity well.

Ganduje, who spoke in Abuja when he hosted the National Coalition of Tinubu Support Groups Worldwide, the national directorate, comprising Nigeria, USA, UK, Canada, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Oman, UAE chapters, for his leading role in Tinubu’s victory at the party’s primary election was feted by the support group.

A statement by Malam Muhammad Garba, the Commissioner for Information, that was made available to SATURDAY INDEPENDENT quoted his principal to have explained that Tinubu’s outstanding performance as Lagos state governor where he formed a formidable team of diverse backgrounds transformed the state into the strongest economy in the sub-region was a pointer in that direction.

He said that “All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential flagbearer is not going to be an experimental president given his dexterity and strong rooting in politics and administration in the Nigeria project.”

Ganduje expressed optimism that the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as APC standard-bearer has brightened the chance and gave hope and encouragement that the party would win the forthcoming 2023 general election.

The governor, therefore, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for creating the enabling environment for the conduct of the primary, the APC and its governors as well as other aspirants who have expressed readiness to work with Asiwaju for the victory of the party.

He similarly expressed appreciation for the recognition by the coalition and promised to work harder for the success of Asiwaju’s presidential candidature.

Earlier, the Convener and Global Director-General of the coalition, Dr Doyin Johnson had said that the award was presented to Governor Ganduje as a way of saying thank you for the strategic role he played in the actualization of the Asiwaju presidency.


He charged the governor to continue to use his intellectual capacity and strong mobilization prowess to ensure the success of the APC presidential candidate at the polls.

Speaking earlier, the Imo state governor, who was part of the delegation, tasked the governor whom he described as a man of honour, to further mapped out strategies for winning the secondary election come 2023.