By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed November 28, 2026, for a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections to test upgrades to its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and electronic results transmission.

This comes as the commission said it has commenced the distribution of non-sensitive materials to some states ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), announced the mock election on Thursday during a dialogue at Chatham House in London, organised in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative, with the theme, “Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Democratic Trajectory and Regional Stability Beyond the Ballot.”

According to a press statement issued in Abuja and signed by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan said the exercise would simulate the presidential election and enable the commission to assess the effectiveness of its accreditation and electronic transmission systems before the polls.

“On the 28th of this month, we will conduct a mock accreditation and voting exercise across all states of the federation to simulate the presidential election and verify that we have gotten both accreditation and electronic result transmission right,” he said.

The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had introduced technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate polling unit results and figures reflecting over-voting from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal Character Commission has filed a four-count criminal charge against the Nigeria Customs Service and its Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, over alleged violations of federal character requirements in the Service’s 2025/2026 recruitment exercise.

The charge sheet, which was sighted by newsmen on Friday, was filed on Thursday at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The charge accused the Customs Service and Adeniyi of failing to provide recruitment records to the commission, preventing it from monitoring the exercise and disregarding its directive to suspend recruitment and training activities.

In the first count, the commission alleged that the Customs Service failed to submit the nominal rolls for its 2025 recruitment exercise despite receiving a request for the records in a letter dated March 25, 2026.

It also accused Adeniyi of recklessly, negligently or wilfully allowing the Service to disregard the commission’s request.

“That you Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, being an officer of the 1st Defendant, recklessly, negligently or willfully acquiesced in the 1st Defendant’s failure to comply with the directives of the Commission, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(3) (b) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, LFN 2004 and punishable under Section 15 of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, LFN 2004,” the first count read.

In the second count, the FCC alleged that the Customs Service and its Comptroller-General failed to invite or submit themselves to the commission for monitoring of relevant stages of the 2025/2026 recruitment exercise between September 14 and October 7, 2026.

The third count accused the defendants of continuing with recruitment and training activities despite receiving a letter dated October 23, 2026, directing the Service to suspend the exercise pending a review.

The commission alleged that the Service disregarded the directive and failed to preserve relevant records and allow its monitoring.

In the fourth count, the FCC accused the defendants of failing to provide clear eligibility criteria and comprehensive recruitment guidelines despite repeated requests between January 30 and October 20, 2026.

It alleged that the failure prevented the Commission from determining the state and zonal distribution of vacancies in the recruitment exercise.

The charges were brought under Section 14(3) of the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, Cap. F7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and are punishable under Section 15 of the Act.

The commission listed three witnesses, including the Chairman of its Committee on Financial Services, Abdulwasiu K. Bawa-Allah, committee member Isa Jibrin Bida, and clerk of the committee, Usman Yaruwa.

It also listed 14 documents it intends to tender during the trial, including correspondence between the commission and the Customs Service, a report on the Service and records of the commission’s October 22 press conference.

The prosecution said it might call additional witnesses as the court considers necessary.

The charge followed a dispute between the commission and the Customs Service over the conduct of the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, particularly complaints by applicants who said they were shortlisted but later excluded from the training programme.

Africa’s richest industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said his investments in electricity generation will help address Nigeria’s power challenges and attract more investors into the country.

Dangote stated this during an interactive session with members of the Northern creative industries and selected journalists at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos.

The billionaire businessman identified inconsistent government policies and inadequate electricity supply as some of the major obstacles discouraging investors from bringing their capital into Africa.

He said the lack of reliable electricity had continued to undermine industrial development and economic growth, stressing that investors would be more willing to establish businesses in Nigeria and other African countries if the necessary infrastructure was available.

Dangote said his investments in power generation were aimed at addressing some of these challenges and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

“People are not coming to invest in Africa due to inconsistencies in government policies and lack of electricity. Now we are generating electricity, and that will make them generate,” he said.

He further disclosed that his group was committing about $70 billion towards investments aimed at making business and economic development more feasible across Africa.

According to him, the investments are part of efforts to strengthen the continent’s productive capacity, improve infrastructure and encourage more private-sector participation in economic development.

On the relationship between the media and his business empire, Dangote said he had no intention of investing in media organisations, insisting that journalists must remain committed to reporting the truth.

He said although he valued the media and maintained cordial relationships with journalists, he would prefer an independent media environment where reporters could freely discharge their professional responsibilities.

“I will not invest in media. You have to tell the truth, and I don’t want to offend anybody, but we will continue to be friends of the media,” Dangote said.

The industrialist also disclosed plans to deepen investments in agriculture, revealing that his group was signing an agreement with the Niger State Government on farming activities.

He said the arrangement would involve the establishment of a rice mill to support large-scale rice production, with about one million hectares of land expected to be cultivated under the initiative.

The proposed agricultural investment, he explained, is expected to strengthen local food production, support farmers and contribute to Nigeria’s food security objectives.

Dangote also announced plans to commission an ultra-modern theatre at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in January, as part of efforts to support healthcare infrastructure.

He said the facility would provide improved medical services and contribute to strengthening the country’s healthcare delivery system.