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INEC commits to uploading Nov 11th guber results for Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa on IREV Portal”
Ahead of the off-cycle governorship elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed its commitment to fulfilling the legal requirement of transmitting real-time election results for the November 11, 2023, elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo states. These results will be made available on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV), as mandated by Nigeria’s electoral laws.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu made these remarks in an interview at the Ganaja Village Polling Unit in Ajaokuta, Kogi State on Saturday. This occurred while he conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the mock accreditation process, facilities, and the preparedness of the INEC office in the state for the upcoming election.
Recall the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Bayelsa State, Ofiong Efanga, in which he purportedly said the results of the election will be manually collated.
The exercise highlighted INEC’s unwavering commitment to ensuring both security and the provision of essential amenities as top priorities.
He emphasized the importance of addressing the unique challenges faced at this location. Ganaja Village Polling Unit stands out as the largest and most densely populated in Nigeria, with a staggering 13,000 registered voters.
While the Commission plans to redistribute voters to other locations after the election, they will carry out the elections with the existing number of registered voters for now.
One of the significant challenges faced at this polling unit is the threat of flooding, given its proximity to the confluence of the River Niger and Benue. To mitigate this risk, INEC has identified Gadumu as a potential relocation site for ad hoc staff in case of flooding.
The preferable solution, however, is to use Ganaja as a “super-rack,” where staff can be camped overnight for a smooth setup on Friday, ensuring that everything is in place for voters on Election Day.
INEC says it is ensuring that voters have a pleasant voting experience on Election Day. The Chairman also clarified that the general elections in Nigeria occur in three phases: the main election conducted in February and March, supplementary elections in April, and court-ordered run elections.
While the focus was on these phases, INEC is fully committed to the success of off-cycle elections, like the one scheduled for November 11, 2023.
To manage the expected crowd on Election Day, the Chairman revealed a plan involving multiple desks for mock accreditation exercises. The voter register will be alphabetized by surnames, and registers will be posted on Election Day to guide voters to their respective locations. 
INEC will deploy a minimum of eight Biometric Verification and Authentication System (BVAS) machines to ensure smooth voter accreditation.
Concerning the method of accreditation and transmission of election results, the Chairman stressed that it would be carried out electronically, with results uploaded on the IREV portal. A mock exercise was conducted to demonstrate this process, and voters registered on the portal could access the results.
Regarding security, INEC has received assurances from security agencies, and a high-level meeting chaired by the Chairman and the National Security Adviser is scheduled to discuss security arrangements for the upcoming elections in the three states.
In addressing the threat of flooding in Kogi, INEC has a history of providing essential amenities, such as electricity, water, toiletries, and sleeping materials, at the “super-racks” where ad hoc staff stay overnight. The Chairman emphasized INEC’s commitment to ensuring the comfort and security of those involved in the elections.
In his words “We chose this polling unit because it is the largest polling unit and most densely populated in Nigeria. It has 13,000 registered voters. After the election, the Commission will redistribute the voters to other approximate locations. But for now, we’ll have to conduct the elections with the number of registered voters in this polling unit.
“And for that reason, we are deploying a minimum of eight BVAS machines on election day, Saturday 11, November 2023 for easy accreditation of voters.
“One of the challenges of this location is flooding. It is not only by the river Niger, it is actually by confluence, where River Niger and Benue meet and on our way you saw evidence of flooding. And that’s why we took you to Gadumu where if there is flooding before the election, we’ll pull the adhoc staff our of there and move them at first light on Saturday to this polling unit.
“But our preference will be to use this place as a super-rack where we will camp the ad hoc stuff overnight, so that they will do the setting up on Friday and at first light on Saturday, INEC officials and materials will be waiting for voters rather than the other way around. So this is one of the largest polling units in the country and that’s where we are here.
“We are taking proactive measures to ensure that we give voters a pleasant voting experience on Election Day.
“Remember we have not concluded the general election yet. The general election are three phases. The main election conducted in February and March. Supplementary elections conducted in April and court ordered run elections. So the attention of the commission was focused on that. But immediately after, then we’ll come back to this but for now, for the purpose of the off-cycle elections. This is the arrangement.
“As you have seen the desks for the mock accreditation exercise, that’s how we have several desks here because there will be several voting locations on election day. So what will happen on Election Day is that we have broken the register alphabetized by the voter surnames.
“So if your name begins with an A, there is a particular location where you are going to vote but registers will be posted here on election day so voters will know exactly where they are going to register and there will be officials of the commission that will guide them as to the locations where they are going to vote and as I said, we’ll deploy a minimum of eight BVAS machines to ensure a smooth accreditation of voters here.
“I’ve received as we are coming pictures from Bayelsa, and the turnout for the mock accreditation in Bayelsa is impressive. In fact, in Artisa in yenagoa, there is even a queue of voters waiting to be accredited. And we believe it is the same story that we’ll be hearing very soon from Imo.
“The method is as provided by law, electronic accreditation, electronic upload of results on the IREV portal and that is why we are doing this mock. So please disregard whatever was reported about what the REC was said to have said in Bayelsa. That’s going to be the procedure and it’s for that reason that I will advise you also for those who are registered on the IREV portal, that in the next two hours or so, they should go to the IREV portal you will see the result of the mock from all the three states, we are uploading, as we have done in previous elections.
“Well, so far so good in terms of assurance from the security agencies as we can see, they’re even here for the MOCK and next week, Friday. There is going to be a high level meeting in Abuja, chaired by myself and the national security adviser in which all the security chiefs will be present, no representation to discuss the issue of security for the three states so we are on top of the situation in terms of security arrangement and security deployment.
“The commission always provides electricity, we provide water, we also provide some toiletries and sleeping materials like mats at the super racks where the adhoc staff stay overnight. So as I keep saying that INEC is the only electoral commission I know which generates before election. It is also the only electoral commission that generates its own water, so close to the election, INEC becomes a mini power holding company and we also become a mini water board. So we’ll make sure that the ad-hoc staff are comfortable. Election is supposed to ride on the back of the national infrastructure.
“So in the absence of that in many locations, we provide, we try and improvise to make ad-hoc more comfortable. So we’ll continue to do what we have always done consistently to provide security and to provide comfort, minimum comfort, for those involved in the elections,”he said.
…Declares a total dividend of N2.10 per share
Lagos, Nigeria, March 29, 2025: Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, released its 2024 full-year Audited Financial Statements, reporting a 210% growth in Profit Before Tax to N385.2 billion.
According to the Bank’s results released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Friday, 28 March 2025, Gross Earnings increased by 87.7% to N1,043.4bn, driven by 106.9% growth in interest and similar income to N950.6bn. The increase in Interest Income was led by a combination of improved yield on earnings assets and 51.6% expansion in earnings base to N6.3tn. This led to a Profit After Tax of N278.1 billion, representing a 179.6% annual growth.
Commenting on the results, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc said, “We are delighted with our 2024 full-year (FY) performance, which showed strong growth across key revenue lines, improved asset quality, and significant traction in our strategic business segments. Our impressive results led to a triple-digit increase (210.0%) in Profit Before Tax (PBT), rising from N124.3bn in 2023 to N385.2bn in 2024.”
A further review of the financial performance revealed that the bank’s net interest income increased by 127.1% to N629.8 billion, driven by a high-yield environment in 2024. To optimize its margin, the bank sustained its asset yields above funding cost by maintaining a high low-cost deposit profile at 92.6%. This led to an increase in its Net Interest Margin from 8.1% in 2023 FY to 12.0%.
Similarly, the bank continued to deepen its market share in both the corporate and retail segments, with customer deposits increasing by 47.9% from N4.0trn in 2023FY to N5.9trn. The increase was driven by strong double-digit growth across all deposit types. The Retail Banking Business gained significant traction with savings deposits increasing by 28.8% to N1.1trn, marking the 10th consecutive year of double-digit annual growth in savings deposits.
Despite the difficult economic terrain in 2024, the bank has continued to support the real sector of the economy by increasing its Net Loans & Advances from N3.1tn in 2023FY to N4.4tn in 2024FY.
“This remarkable performance demonstrates our capacity to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. In line with our commitment to them, we have declared a final dividend of N1.25 per share, bringing our total dividend for the 2024 financial year to N2.10 per share”, explained Onyeali-Ikpe.
Having consistently paid dividends since 2006, Fidelity Bank will pay investors a total dividend of N2.10 per share for the 2024 financial year, subject to shareholders’ approval at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 29 April 2024. The dividend will be paid on 29 April 2025 to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as of 15 April 2025.
It will be recalled that the bank successfully completed the first phase of its capital raising exercise through a Public Offer and Rights Issue in 2024, which were oversubscribed by 237.92% and 137.73%, respectively. The positive result is a testament to the strength of the Bank’s franchise in the capital market. A total of N175.9bn was recognized as fresh capital in 2024 financial year from the exercise, which had a positive impact on its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 23.5%. The bank plans to conclude the second phase by Q3 2025, ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s deadline, which will further strengthen its capital base and reaffirm its attainment of Tier 1 Bank status in the Nigerian Banking Industry.
Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged commercial bank with over 9.1 million customers who are serviced across its 251 business offices and various digital banking channels in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
By Sunday James
The gruesome killing of 16 innocent northern hunters in Uromi, Edo State, over false accusations of kidnapping is yet another damning indictment of the failure of law and order in Nigeria.
Time and again, innocent lives have been lost to the mindless brutality of mob justice, a savage and inexcusable act that has become far too common across the country.
This is not an isolated incident. Nigeria has witnessed several tragic cases of jungle justice where angry mobs, fueled by misinformation and misplaced aggression, have taken the law into their own hands.
The Aluu Four incident in 2012, where four young university students in Rivers State were falsely accused of robbery, beaten, and burned to death in a horrific public spectacle, remains one of the most chilling examples.
In 2022, Deborah Samuel, a young student in Sokoto State, was lynched by fellow students over alleged blasphemy, an incident that sparked outrage but yielded little justice. In Lagos, several suspected petty thieves were set ablaze by mobs in broad daylight without any fair trial.
Across the country, from Anambra to Kano, Port Harcourt to Abuja, numerous cases of public executions by mobs continue to surface, often with little to no legal consequences for perpetrators.
The rise of mob justice is fueled by a cocktail of systemic failures that have left Nigerians disillusioned with formal justice mechanisms.
The breakdown of law and order, where the Nigerian police fail to deliver swift and transparent justice, has led to public distrust, encouraging citizens to take matters into their own hands. Rising insecurity, including the surge in kidnappings, banditry, and violent crimes, has left many communities in perpetual fear, triggering knee-jerk reactions to perceived threats. Ethnic and religious tensions have also played a major role, with deep-seated biases making certain groups more vulnerable to targeted attacks.
The proliferation of unregulated local vigilante groups and security outfits has further emboldened extrajudicial actions against innocent civilians. Additionally, the slow pace of criminal trials and the failure to punish perpetrators of jungle justice have normalized impunity.The Edo killings, like many before them, must not be swept under the rug.
The government must ensure immediate arrest, prosecution, and conviction of all those involved in this heinous act. Strengthening law enforcement agencies to curb vigilante excesses and restore public trust is paramount.
There must be massive public enlightenment campaigns to educate citizens on legal redress rather than mob action. Strict penalties must be enforced against communities and groups involved in jungle justice to deter future occurrences.The Nigerian government must wake up to its responsibility of protecting lives and ensuring justice for all.
If mob justice continues unchecked, no one is truly safe. This latest atrocity in Edo should be the final warning: justice delayed is justice denied. The killers must be held accountable, and a nationwide crackdown on jungle justice must begin immediately. Enough is enough. The rule of law must prevail.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has congratulated the Muslim Ummah across the country on the occasion of Eid-el-Fitr.
The celebration marks the successful completion of the holy month of Ramadan.
In a message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, Ganduje rejoiced with Muslims for the spiritual renewal and discipline attained during the sacred month of fasting, prayer and devotion to Almighty Allah.
He urged the faithful to uphold the virtues of piety, selflessness, and compassion that Ramadan represents while also extending love and kindness to one another, especially to the less privileged in society.
The APC National Chairman further called on Muslims and all citizens to remain steadfast in promoting unity, peace, and national progress in the country.
He emphasized that the lessons of Ramadan—patience, sacrifice, and perseverance—are essential in fostering harmony and strengthening the nation’s democratic institutions.
The two-term Kano State Governor also urged the Muslim Ummah and Nigerians to pray for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed in his efforts to lift the country from economic doldrums and resolve lingering security challenges.
He assured Nigerians of the APC-led government’s commitment to improving the welfare and well-being of all citizens, noting that Nigerians will not regret voting for President Tinubu after his first tenure.
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