The Senate Press Corps (SPC), the umbrella body of journalists and media representatives covering the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has named the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, as the Most Outstanding Deputy President of the Senate Since 1999.

The award was presented today at the National Assembly, Abuja, in the presence of the leadership and members of the prestigious parliamentary correspondents’ association.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman of the Senate Press Corps, Comrade Taye Odewale, who has covered the Senate for the past 22 years, said the association’s assessment identified Senator Barau as the most outstanding Deputy President of the Senate since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

According to him, the assessment was based on Senator Barau’s contributions to legislative development, quality lawmaking, presiding capabilities, contributions to debates, oversight, responsive representation, accessibility and commitment to humanity.

He particularly highlighted Senator Barau’s legislative record, noting that despite the administrative demands of his office, the Deputy Senate President had sponsored 48 bills within the last 40 months of the 10th National Assembly, five of which had been passed into law.
Senator Barau is also the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Among the landmark legislation highlighted by the SPC Chairman are the North West Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023; National Identity Management Commission (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2024; Agricultural Research Council Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024; Federal Medical Centre, Gwarzo, Kano State (Establishment) Bill, 2024; and Federal University of Science and Technology, Kabo (Establishment) Bill, 2025.

The association also acknowledged Senator Barau’s commitment to responsive representation and impactful public service delivery through constituency projects and empowerment programmes benefiting various categories of people across Kano North, Kano State, the North-West geopolitical zone and Nigeria at large.

Responding, Senator Barau thanked the Senate Press Corps for recognising his modest contributions to the development of the legislature.

He described the honour as both an acknowledgement of his efforts and a motivation to do more.

“This honour is not only an acknowledgement of the work we have done but also a motivation to do even more. As the popular saying goes, to whom much is given, much is expected.

“I assure you that I will not let you down. I will not let the Senate down; I will not let the National Assembly down, and I will not let the entire legislature or our country down.

“I remain committed to strengthening our democratic institutions, advancing people-oriented legislation and delivering purposeful representation to my constituents in Kano North Senatorial District,” he said.

The National Primary Election Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has officialized Senator Tijjani Yahaya Kaura as the party’s candidate for the Zamfara North Senatorial District in the upcoming 2027 general elections.

The declaration follows the successful conclusion of a court-mandated re-run primary election conducted on Monday, November 2, 2026.

Announcing the final results on behalf of the Senatorial Primary Election Committee, committee member Sani Abdullahi confirmed that Senator Kaura secured a decisive victory by polling 16,758 votes.

He outperformed his primary rivals, Sahabi Alhaji Yau, who secured 1,465 votes, and Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who received 1,447 votes.

According to the official figures released and certified by the election committee’s leadership, the electoral roll comprised 23,257 registered voters, with 19,608 delegates accredited for the exercise. A total of 19,292 valid votes were counted during the direct voting process.

Delivering the formal return, Abdullahi affirmed that Senator Kaura satisfied all statutory requirements outlined in the APC Constitution and the party’s electoral guidelines. Having amassed the highest number of lawful votes, Kaura was officially returned as the party’s candidate for the district.

The official result sheet was formally signed by the committee’s Chairman and Secretary at the close of proceedings on November 2, 2026.

This decisive primary outcome resolves a prolonged legal dispute over the nomination.

The exercise was ordered after the Court of Appeal in Sokoto upheld a ruling by the Federal High Court in Gusau, which nullified the previous primary election due to reported irregularities and mandated the party to conduct a transparent re-run.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

A former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has called for proactive and robust safeguards to protect information integrity, as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections.

Mr Jega ‌‍‌‌⁠‍⁠⁠‍‌‍⁠‍‍‍‍‌made the call in Abuja at a National Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, FIMI, and Electoral Information Integrity.

Speaking as the chairman of the event, with the theme: “Beyond the Ballot: Safeguarding Electoral Information Integrity in the Age of AI”, Mr Jega noted that safeguarding electoral information against digital manipulation and malicious threats had become a critical task for all stakeholders.

While acknowledging that AI holds tremendous potential to improve efficiency and effectiveness in governance and electoral processes, he warned that it also carried severe negative uses that could undermine the integrity of elections.

“What is most important, of course, is how we prepare, anticipate these challenges and take appropriate measures, including setting up a framework of rapid response to address these,” he said.

Drawing from his participation in the 2024 Cambridge Conference on Electoral Democracy, Jega recommended that Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in Africa should consider deploying AI-driven tools, such as chatbots powered by officially-verified data.

He noted that such would allow citizens to quickly access accurate information and verify the authenticity of data being circulated.

“I understand that some African EMBs have seen the utility of this in checkmating or reducing the negative effects and the impact of misinformation and disinformation during elections.

“And I would like to recommend that if INEC has not done so so far, it might be a useful issue to add to our discussions and to see as to how best to know it before the 2027 general elections,” he said.

The former INEC chairman noted that building trust and public confidence in the electoral process was important.

“The integrity of an election is so important and the building trust and ensuring that there is public confidence in what participants in the electoral process do, and other key stakeholders do, is very important,” Jega said.

He urged participants to leverage the summit’s platform to move beyond dialogue and develop actionable strategies, rapid-response frameworks and tactical solutions to secure the integrity of future elections.

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Declaring the workshop open, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said that the integrity of 2027 elections remained a shared responsibility, noting that every institution and every citizen had a role to play.

Mr Idris, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council (NPC), Dr Dili Ezughah, said that the President Bola Tinubu led-administration recognised the importance of credible information environment to democratic stability.

While citing Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published in 2024, which provides a framework for responsible, critical and inclusive AI development and deployment, he stated the Tinubu administration also recognised the importance of credible information in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy.

“A significant demonstration of this commitment is the establishment of the UNESCO Category 2 International Media and Information Literacy Institute in Nigeria,” he said.

The minister said that Tinubu had demonstrated the commitment by signing the amended Electoral Act 2026 into law on Feb. 18, which provided for mandatory electronic transmission of polling unit results and recognised the time-tested results viewing portal.

He, however, said that technology alone could not guarantee public confidence in the electoral process, saying it should involve all stakeholders playing their expected roles.

“Electoral institutions must communicate clearly. Journalists must verify information and citizens must know where to obtain authentic electoral updates.

“I wish to emphasise that responsible journalism must not be mistaken for favourable journalism. The media must remain free to question government, political parties, candidates and public institutions, ensuring fairness and fair distinction between facts, allegations and opinions.

“We must also protect freedom of expression and the right to information.”