President Tinubu Overhauls Military Leadership, Names New Service Chiefs

From Adeko Ukpa, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has made changes in the hierarchy of the Service Chiefs in furtherance of the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen the national security architecture.

The President appointed General Olufemi Oluyede to replace General Christopher Musa as the new Chief of Defence Staff. The new Chief of Army Staff is Major-General W. Shaibu. Air Vice Marshall S.K Aneke is Chief of Air Staff while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff. Chief of Defence Intelligence Major-General E.A.P Undiendeye retains his position.

The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, expresses most profound appreciation to the outgoing Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and the other Service Chiefs for their patriotic service, and dedicated leadership.

The President charges the newly appointed Service Chiefs to justify the confidence reposed in them to further enhance the professionalism, vigilance and comradeship that define the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

All appointments take immediate effect.

Sunday Dare

Special Adviser to the President

Media & Public Communication

October 24, 2025

From Adeko Ukpa, Abuja

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has condemned, in strong terms, the unlawful arrest and detention of human rights activist and pro-democracy campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, by the Nigeria Police.

“We strongly condemn this reckless action as an assault on democracy, freedom of speech, and the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Frank said in a statement in Abuja.

“The arrest of Sowore is not only unjustifiable but represents a dangerous slide towards authoritarianism in a country that claims to operate under democratic principles.”

According to him, it is unacceptable that in 2025, Nigerians are still being harassed, intimidated, and detained for peacefully expressing dissenting opinions or calling for good governance.

“The right to protest, to assemble, and to hold government accountable are fundamental pillars of any true democracy,” he said. “Suppressing these rights through intimidation and arbitrary arrests is a betrayal of the democratic promises made to the Nigerian people.”

Frank who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and all relevant authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sowore and other peaceful protesters arrested in Abuja and across the country.

“Tinubu’s administration must demonstrate commitment to the rule of law and respect for human rights by ending the culture of fear and intimidation.

“Nigeria is currently facing serious security, economic, and governance challenges that require constructive engagement, not repression,” he said.

He urged the government to focus its energy on addressing pressing national issues instead of silencing voices of dissent.

He said: “It is unbecoming of this administration to intimidate and oppress citizens in a democratic period like this.

“We are not under military rule where dissent is a crime. This is supposed to be a democracy that Nigeria is practising.

“Yet, under this administration, we are witnessing dictatorship, oppression, and the suppression of free speech.

“This is why the international community cannot take Nigeria or this administration seriously.

“There are so many serious security issues in the country. We expect our security agencies to channel their energy towards arresting bandits, criminals, and Boko Haram members, not innocent citizens who are peacefully protesting against bad governance.

“If the administration were doing what is right and keeping its campaign promises to Nigerians, nobody would criticise or take to the streets.

“Arresting unarmed citizens anytime there’s a protest is totally wrong and must stop.”

He called on the National Human Rights Commission, civil society groups, and the international community, including the United States Government, the European Union, and the United Nations Human Rights Council, to intervene and prevail on the Nigerian government to respect the rights of its citizens.

He said: “We saw recently how there were massive protests in America and other parts of the world against Donald Trump’s administration.

“Yet, Trump or the American government never tear-gassed or arrested peaceful protesters.

“That is what true democracy looks like. True leaders, like Trump in that instance, understand that citizens have the right to criticise their government.

“Nigeria has now become a country where the government oppresses its citizens. This administration has turned dictatorial and despotic.

“While insecurity ravages the nation, they focus on intimidating citizens instead of fighting corruption.

“In this government, people who loot the country are rewarded. They negotiate with bandits and criminals while they harass, intimidate, and arrest peaceful protesters.

“The same thing is happening to journalists. Today in Nigeria, journalists have no press freedom. This administration is now worse than some military regimes of the past.

“They also intimidate and oppress members of the opposition political parties, forcing people to join their party or face arrest and prosecution.

“We are using this opportunity to call on the international community, especially the American government, to help rescue Nigerians from the hands of this administration.”

By Adeko Ukpa, Abuja

The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has applauded former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for transforming Nigeria’s electoral process through sweeping technological reforms that curtailed election manipulation and strengthened voter integrity.

Speaking at a colloquium in Abuja on “Ten Years of Leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as INEC Chairman,” IPAC National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, said Yakubu’s leadership ushered in an era where “votes truly counted” and political manipulation became nearly impossible.

Dantalle said the reforms made multiple voting, use of fake voter cards, and other forms of rigging extremely difficult. “In the past, results were manufactured and you had over 20 million votes appearing from nowhere,” he said. “What INEC under Professor Mahmood Yakubu did was to clean the voter register using technology, making it impossible to have more than one name per person.”

He noted that the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and digital cleaning of the voter register ensured that only genuine voters participated in elections. “We saw fake PVCs being dumped in gutters because they could not pass BVAS verification,” Dantalle said. “Even though voter turnout was low, the votes that were counted in 2023 were real votes from Nigerians — not manufactured figures.”

Caption: Resource persons and Panelists during the Colloquium on Ten Years of Leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of INEC

According to him, the outcome of recent elections showed that electoral power had shifted back to the people. “We saw sitting governors lose elections to the Senate in states like Enugu, Benue, and Kebbi because votes counted,” he said. “We saw Peter Obi, who had no councillors or local government chairmen, defeat an incumbent president in Lagos. That was possible because of Yakubu’s technology-driven reforms.”

Ending Candidate Manipulation

The IPAC Chairman highlighted that before Yakubu’s tenure, political parties could manipulate the process of submitting candidates’ names. “Parties used to arrive with trucks of documents from primaries, paying or influencing officials to alter names,” he said. “Yakubu stopped that through an online portal that allowed parties to upload candidates directly. The system automatically rejects names of those who didn’t win primaries, reducing pre-election litigations.”

He stressed that Yakubu ensured inclusivity by involving political parties and civil society in every innovation. “No reform was implemented without stakeholder input,” he said, noting that INEC trained party officials to use the new platforms to upload candidates and party agents’ lists.

Dantalle added that Yakubu’s reforms also tightened political party registration. “Before now, one man could register a political party with his wife as women leader and his son as secretary,” he said. “Today, with INEC’s new criteria, every founding member must possess a valid PVC. That’s why the registration of new parties has become more stringent.”

‘Technology as Infrastructure, Not Novelty’

Delivering the keynote lecture, Prof. Emmanuel Aiyede of the University of Ibadan described Yakubu’s decade-long tenure as a “quiet but profound technological revolution” that redefined Nigeria’s elections. He said the introduction of BVAS, the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), and the digitalisation of nomination and registration processes turned technology into the “grammar of electoral credibility.”

“The real legacy of Yakubu lies not in the machines themselves but in the institutional mindset he created,” Aiyede said. “He helped shift INEC from seeing technology as a novelty to treating it as infrastructure. Technology cannot replace integrity, but it can amplify it and make manipulation traceable.”

Aiyede urged INEC to consolidate Yakubu’s achievements by professionalising its staff and using data for long-term democratic planning, constituency delimitation, voter education, and logistics. “Machines can authenticate fingerprints, but only human integrity can authenticate elections,” he said.

Transparency and Inclusiveness

Executive Director, Centre for Transparency Advocacy, Faith Nwadishi, described Yakubu’s era as one that deepened transparency and opened INEC to collaboration. “He institutionalised continuous voter registration, expanded consultations with political parties, civil society, and the media, and even introduced the first creche at INEC headquarters to support nursing mothers,” she said.

Nwadishi, however, cautioned that challenges such as vote buying, insecurity, and voter apathy persist. “Innovation alone is not enough,” she said. “Institutional reform, civic responsibility, and political will must match our technological progress.”

As INEC transitions into a post-Yakubu era, speakers at the colloquium agreed that his tenure marked a defining chapter in Nigeria’s democratic evolution, one where technology became the cornerstone of electoral credibility and citizens’ votes finally began to count.