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Don’t Repeat Your Mistakes – ActionAid Tells INEC
As Nigerians head to polls tomorrow, ActionAid Nigeria has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to ensure that the many challenges that marred the credibility of the Presidential election are handled ahead of Saturday’s Governorship election in parts of the country.
The country representative of the agency, Mrs. Ene Obi, made the call yesterday in Abuja while addressing journalists, and said Independent National Electoral Commission INEC should focus on tomorrow’s election.
She said women should not give up because we are fighting for our children, we are fighting for humanity. Women we do not have a tribe we don’t have parties our party is humanity our tribe is also humanity.
“Let’s focus on the governorship election. Let’s see what will happen here because deployment is going to the States already earlier than normal time so let’s hope that this is going to work.
According to her, When we noted that they were talking about the presidential result were not going to be uploaded on the IREV portal, we reported to INEC and he granted a press conference.
“I don’t want us to go out of here expecting that INEC did not envisage anything that happened during the presidential election. How did INEC get National Assembly results uploaded without a problem and what happened to presidential results?
ActionAid Nigeria Digital technology manager, Charles Petu said INEC explained to us what BVAS is expected to do and they want the result to be transmitted but what they did not envisage is there might be network failure and most of the polling unit our observer reported that they experienced network failure.
“We look at a situation where INEC would have envisaged that and make alternative arrangements because in technology we deploy what we call diversity. Diversity in communication means if one device fails, there should be a backup So INEC should have anticipated a backup mechanism to upload results, if there was a failure of one there should be an alternative,” he said
On her part, ActionAid Nigeria, Director of the program, Hajia Suwaiba Dankabo ,said”The integrity of election should not be rest on the technology alone. The integrity of the election was far beyond the technology which can experience failure at any time, the human being operate the technology and if you want to operate the technology, let’s put our eyes on how the technology is supported, to give us what we want.”
A fire on Wednesday evening caused extensive damage at the popular phone village in Challenge market, Ilorin, Kwara state.
The fire, which started around 9:06pm, was believed to have been triggered by a power surge.
The market, which houses over 120 shops, 80 kiosks, and numerous stands, saw 10 kiosks reportedly affected.
In a statement on Thursday, Hassan Adekunle, spokesperson for the Kwara state fire service, said the conflagration primarily affected phone stores and repair shops.
“Our fire crew promptly mobilised and arrived at the scene to find several shops engulfed in flames,” he said.
“The market comprises over 120 shops, 80 kiosks, and numerous stands. Through swift intervention, professionalism, and tactical expertise, our team successfully curtailed the spread of the fire, limiting its impact to only 10 kiosks.
“The affected areas were primarily phone stores and repair shops. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was caused by a power surge.
“Traders and market stakeholders commended the Kwara State Fire Service for their rapid response and effectiveness in saving the market from widespread destruction.”
Falade Olumuyiwa, director of the state fire service, expressed sympathy to the market leadership and affected traders.
Olumuyiwa also prayed that all losses suffered would be divinely restored.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, on Wednesday, announced the interception of contraband items worth over N921 billion as the service intensifies enforcement operations at the nation’s ports.
The items included expired food items, unregistered pharmaceutical products and controlled security equipment.
Adeniyi during a press briefing at the Apapa Command of the service said that the seizures were made between January and April.
According to him, the seizures also involved 11 separate interdictions.
He said the prohibited items included five 40-foot containers, two 20-foot containers and four seizures of loosely concealed contraband.
The CG also gave updates on the rollout of the Customs Unified Management Information System, known as B’Odogwu, describing the pilot phase at PTML and Tin Can Island Port as crucial.
He explained that his earlier visits to PTML and Tin Can that morning, before arriving at Apapa, were to gain firsthand insights of challenges faced by stakeholders with the new digital platform.
He admitted that while the B’Odogwu rollout was ambitious and necessary, the service was fully aware that initial implementation would have some hiccups.
“We are not pretending that when we roll out a very serious project of that magnitude that there will be no hitches,” he said.
He added that Customs was approaching the situation with flexibility and innovation, holding stakeholder and bank engagements to address the hiccups in the system’s deployment.
Adeniyi also explained measures towards strengthening enforcement at the Apapa Command, in line with the national strategic economic development plan and executive orders on port operations.
He said the Command had scaled up surveillance across seaports, airports, and land borders in response to evolving tactics by transnational criminal networks attempting to breach the country’s import protocols.
He raised alarm over the rising influx of unregistered pharmaceutical products, particularly sexual enhancement drugs into the Nigerian market, warning that such items posed threat to public health and safety.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that unregistered medicines lacking mandatory certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) were seized.
Other items seized included expired margarine products, and restricted security gadgets including drones and telecommunication devices without end-user certificates from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The seizures included 89 cartons of unregistered pharmaceutical products in container CAAU6514500, 242 cartons in container TCNU6880130, and 1,001 cartons of hydra-sildenafil citrate tablets in container MRSU3041714.
Another 40-footer container was found to contain 1,400 packages of various unregistered drugs, while a fifth had 805 packages falsely declared as cosmetic powder.
The service also intercepted two 20ft containers, GCNU1367992 and GCNU1372704, containing expired margarine products.
Additionally, 60 units of warrior drones without valid end-user certificates were recovered from container MSKU9329923, valued at N15.9 million.
Another 53 helicopter drones, evacuated from a container marked CFAX3, carried an estimated duty-paid value of N2.1 million.
Ten professional FM transceiver walkie-talkies were also confiscated from ENL, while a 20ft container (SUDU1408819) was found to contain 500 packages of active medicine tablets lacking NAFDAC certification.
Adeniyi disclosed that the analysis of these seizures revealed five key smuggling trends.
According to him, first was the disturbing proliferation of sexual enhancement drugs, as five of the 11 containers seized were laden with variants of sildenafil citrate and other related substances.
The CG warned that the indiscriminate use of these drugs without medical supervision could lead to serious health complications, including cardiovascular risks.
He said a second trend was a growing pattern of misdeclaration, with importers labeling pharmaceuticals as general merchandise or cosmetics in an attempt to evade detection.
According to him, two containers had pharmaceutical products concealed beneath skin creams.
He noted a third trend is the diversification of contraband shipments, with importers mixing pharmaceuticals, expired food, and restricted technology items in a single container.
This, he said, suggested the involvement of sophisticated criminal networks rather than isolated smugglers.
He said the fourth trend was the strategic selection of countries with weaker pharmaceutical export controls, indicating a deliberate attempt to exploit regulatory loopholes.
He identified the last trend of increasing importation of non-pharmaceutical security threats, including drones and communication gadgets, which raised significant concerns for national security.
The CG emphasized that the seizures were not isolated efforts but part of a broader enforcement drive that had seen the service record 22 narcotics-related interceptions in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
He added that the seizures accounted for a duty-paid value of N730 billion, representing 34.6 percent increase when compared to the same period in 2024.
He credited the results to the service’s intelligence-led enforcement strategy and collaboration with regulatory agencies like NAFDAC, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency and Office of the National Security Adviser.
Adeniyi warned that the service would not relent in its commitment to securing Nigeria’s borders and protecting the lives of its citizens.
He commended officers and men of the Apapa Command for their vigilance and professionalism, urging stakeholders within the international trade ecosystem to comply strictly with import regulations.
Concluding the briefing, the CG declared a restricted area around the five containers carrying dangerous pharmaceutical materials, urging all present to maintain a safe distance to avoid any risk of exposure.
He urged the public to remain alert and make use of confidential channels to report suspicious imports, emphasising that collective vigilance would curb the growing threat of organised transnational smuggling. (NAN)
Organised Labour has appealed to the Federal Government not to compress the civic space by restricting citizens from freely expressing themselves.
President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Joe Ajaero, made the appeal on Wednesday in Abuja, at the 2025 Pre – May Day Lecture, organised by the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the lecture has the theme, “Reclaiming the Civic Space in the Midst of Economic Hardship” .
Ajaero stressed the need for government to open up the civil space to enable workers and unions to freely express themselves in line with democracy tenets.
He assured that the labour movement would continue to talk truth to power and fight for the rights of Nigerians.
Prof. Christopher Chukwuma from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, while delivering the keynote address called for the review of laws restricting, criminalising civic engagements in the country.
Chukwuma, a Professor of International law said it was imperative to review the Cybercrime Act and the Public Order Act, which, according to him, are restricting and criminalising civic engagement .
He said that the civic space was essential for the functioning of democratic processes.(NAN)