General News
List of Biggest Political Casualties of the General Elections
The April 11 Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections have come and gone, bringing to an end over 12 months of rigorous electioneering and scheming.
Winners have emerged and the also-rans are counting their financial and political loses. Some losers, however, were obviously worse affected than others.
Carlhz Chinedu, a sociopolitical commentator and a social justice activist in this compilation, lists the biggest casualties of the March 28 and April 11 political hurricanes.
Mua’zu Babangida Aliyu:
The Niger State “Chief Servant’s” woeful performance at both the March 28 and April 11 elections has called into question his supposed status as a force to be reckoned with in the Nigerian political equation.
The long-serving Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) not only failed to “deliver” his state to the PDP’s Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the Presidential Polls and in his bid to ensure that his anointed candidate, Umar Nasko, succeeds him at the Minna Government House, but he also fluffed in his quest to represent the Niger East Senatorial Zone in the 8th Senate.
It’s really been a season of reality checks for the once-influential governor, a politician who was reportedly being groomed by some power brokers in the North to succeed Goodluck Ebele Jonathan come 2019.
He was even widely quoted in the local press few weeks ago as saying that he intends to “mark time” in the Senate while he awaits the 2019 General Elections when he would take a shot at the country’s top job. All that is up in the air now.
As it stands, instead of waiting in the senate, he will be marking time at home while he counts his loses and plans his next political move.
Lagos PDP:
These are not the best of times for the PDP nationwide, more so in Lagos state. The party’s huge losses at the polls is made much worse by the fact that Lagos state is the de facto nerve center of the APC.
Depending on how the APC goes about governing both the country and the state, the once-dominant PDP may be reduced to oblivion.
The PDP’s sudden loss of prominence will definitely instigate a flurry of realignments and defections into the new ruling party.
The losses will be asphyxiating no doubt, but the PDP’s continued survival and robustness in Lagos state is crucial for the democracy over there, else the “Center of Excellence” runs the risk of becoming a one-party state where no-one dares question or check the excesses of the ruling party. Four years is not eternity; 2019 is not as far as it seems. There’s enough time between now and then for the party to rediscover itself and mount a greater challenge.
David Mark and Gabriel Suswam:
Not even the combined might of a two-time Senate President and an incumbent governor could stop the APC from snatching a hard-fought victory in Benue state.
The PDP’s latest defeat in Benue didn’t come as a surprise to many this time around, following its shock loss in the state at the presidential polls.
The party’s overall poor showing at the National Assembly elections will almost certainly cost David Mark the presidency of Nigeria’s Upper Legislative Chamber — a position which he has held since 2007 — while Governor Suswam’s running battle with the Benue state civil servants has cost him both a ticket to the 8th Senate and a governorship ticket for his anointed candidate, Terhemen Tarzoor.
What becomes of both men in the Nigerian political arena come the next administration is anyone’s guess.
Nuhu Ribadu:
The revered former anti-corruption boss’ sojourn into the murky waters of politics has so far not been fruitful. He contested and lost the 2011 Presidential elections on the platform of the ACN to the PDP’s Goodluck Jonathan.
In 2014, he controversially defected to the PDP from what had morphed into the APC with hopes of contesting on the platform of the PDP and probably winning the Adamawa state gubernatorial election. However, it was not to be.
He was gifted the opportunity of running for the office, but he was always doomed to fail, following alleged anti-party activities and sabotage by members of his own party.
This culminated in a comprehensive defeat on April 11, where he finished in an embarrassing third place.
Chibuike Amaechi:
His party may have been victorious at the Presidential polls, but it’s been a pyrrhic victory for the APC chieftain.
His failure to “deliver” his state to the All Progressives’ Congress a fortnight ago was partially overlooked and forgiven amidst the euphoria surrounding their triumph at the national level, but April 11’s heavy defeat will not go unnoticed.
The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council could do little as his party was trounced in a state where he is the governor, at the hands of the his arch rival, the Dame Patience Jonathan-backed Nyesom Wike of the PDP. Amaechi may be an integral part of the incoming APC-led federal government, but back home in the South South, his influence has been significantly whittled down.
Namadi Sambo:
Even his status as the incumbent Vice President and a one-time governor of Kaduna could not ward off a heavy loss for his party in his home state.
Though no-one really expected him to “deliver” the North — or even the North West — to the PDP, the low-key and ever-smiling Vice President should have brought much more to the table in the March 28 and April 11 elections than he ended up doing.
Adamu Mu’azu:
This has been the People’s Democratic Party’s worst performance since its inception in 1998, prior to Nigeria’s return to civilian rule. Every organization has a leader whose responsibilities are to manage its affairs and accept culpability for the outcomes of his managerial decisions and tactics, especially when they are negative.
In this instance, Mu’azu (branded the “Game Changer” by his PDP colleagues) must shoulder the blames for his party’s disastrous outing in the just-concluded polls, though it was not entirely of his own making. Under his watch, the PDP lost several states where it was once dominant, including Plateau, Niger, Adamawa, Benue, Katsina and Kaduna (Abia will also likely be lost to APGA), and it put up a limp performance in Opposition-controlled states where it was expected to do much better, including Oyo, Ogun, Nasarawa, Kano, Kwara, Sokoto, Lagos and Bauchi, his home state. Considering the amount of resources that was poured into the 2015 general elections by the PDP, the end product has been nothing short of disastrous.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan:
He’s, without a doubt, the biggest loser here, yet the manner in which he quickly conceded defeat and saved the country another round of senseless bloodshed has made him victorious in defeat.
His political miscalculations, faux pas, misguided appointments and perceived leniency towards corruption all conspired to make him the first incumbent Nigerian Head of State to lose a presidential election.
That notwithstanding, His Excellency deserves our dispassionate commendation for overseeing one of the most peaceful and successful elections in Nigeria’s history, even in the face of intense pressure to manipulate the process.
Carlhz Chinedu is a sociopolitical commentator and a social justice activist.
The newly enacted Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, has empowered the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), renamed Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), to impose fines for individuals and companies for failing to register, file returns, use tax technology, or disclose basic information like a change of business address.
The Act is among the tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu on June 26.
The tax administration law is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026, under a renamed agency — the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), currently known as the FIRS.
The Act, which is an updated version of previous fragmented tax enforcement provisions, outlines a comprehensive list of offences and corresponding penalties, with fines ranging from N10,000 to N10 million, as well as prison terms of up to 10 years for serious breaches.
Under the general offences and penalties section of the law, a taxable person who fails to register with the relevant tax authority is liable to a N50,000 fine in the first month and N25,000 for each subsequent month of default.
The Act stressed that companies that award contracts to unregistered vendors will face a N5 million penalty.
The law also imposes a N100,000 fine for failure to file tax returns, plus N50,000 monthly for as long as the failure continues.
“A taxable person who fails or refuses to file returns or knowingly files incomplete or inaccurate returns to the relevant tax authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty of (a) 100,000 in the first month in which the failure occurs; and (b) N50,000 for each subsequent month in which the failure continues,” the Act reads.
“A taxable person who Failure to books (a) fails to keep accounts, books and records of business transactions and income, to allow for the correct ascertainment of tax and filing of returns to the relevant tax authority; or (b) upon request by the relevant tax authority, fails to provide any record or book prescribed in this Act shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty of- (i) in the case of a person other than a company, N10,000, and (ii) in the case of a company, N50,000.”
Also, the law states that failure to notify the tax authority of a change of address within 30 days of such change, giving a wrong address, or failing to comply with the requirement for notification of permanent cessation of trade or business under the relevant tax laws shall be liable to an administrative penalty.
“A taxable person who fails to notify the relevant tax authority – Failure to notify change of address (a) N100,000 for the first month in which the failure occurs; and (b) 45,000 for each subsequent month failure persists,” the law reads.
In a bid to modernise tax compliance, the Act makes it compulsory for businesses to allow the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to deploy fiscalisation technology or face a N1 million fine for the first day of refusal and N10,000 for each day after.
Any business that fails to process sales through the fiscalisation system will also be fined N200,000, pay 100 percent of the tax due, and accrue interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy rate.
The Act is especially punitive toward those who fail to deduct or remit taxes.
“A person that deducts, collects, or withholds any tax under this Act, and fails to remit the amount deducted, collected, or withheld by the 21st day of the month immediately succeeding the month in which the amount was deducted, collected, or withheld, is liable to pay,” it added.
“Failure to remit tax deducted source or self-account (a) the amount deducted, collected or withheld but not remitted; (b) an administrative penalty of 10% per annum of the tax deducted, collected or withheld but not remitted; and (c) interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria monetary policy rate. “A person convicted of any of the offences under this section shall be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine of not less than the principal amount due plus a penalty of not more than 50% of the sum, or both.
“A person who (a) fails to comply with the requirements of a notice served under this Act or any other tax law; (b) fails to attend or provide answers to a notice, summons or process served under this Act or any other tax law; or (c) having attended, fails to answer any question lawfully put to him, is liable to an administrative penalty of N100,000 in the first day of default and N10,000 for every subsequent day where the default.”
Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (Taskforce) has apprehended six suspects allegedly involved in a fraudulent lottery scheme that targeted unsuspecting residents at Iyana-Ipaja.
Those arrested include Amaike Nelson, Kenneth Opuana, Oguntade Olusegun, Ogologo Obi, Goodluck Abel, and Oluwafunmilayo Adebimpe. The syndicate was tracked down following intelligence reports about their activities.
According to the taskforce, the suspects lured a 19-year-old student, identified as Rukayat Kamilu, into a manipulated street game. During the encounter, the group reportedly coerced her into surrendering her mobile phone and personal belongings.
The victim said one of the suspects, later identified as Oguntade Olusegun, posed as a confused passer-by seeking help to pick a “winning number.” After she got involved, her phone was seized, and she was allegedly pressured to pay N100,000 to retrieve it.
Acting on a tip-off, operatives led by CSP Adetayo Akerele, chairman, stormed the area and arrested the suspects. Several empty Android phone boxes, allegedly used as props in the scam, were recovered during the operation.
Condemning the criminal act, Akerele assured residents that the agency is intensifying its crackdown on street scams across the state.
“Our responsibility is to safeguard the lives and property of Lagosians. We will leave no room for such fraudulent activities to thrive,” he stated.
The suspects were subsequently arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court on charges bordering on gambling, extortion, theft, and conspiracy.
They all pleaded guilty. The court ordered that they remain in custody pending further hearing, scheduled for August 7, 2025.
In a giant stride to support innovation, entrepreneurship and economic transformation, the Federal Government is set to unveil a N50 million grant for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences (STEEM) students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The project, which is referred to as the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), is a pioneering initiative designed to empower the students towards building the next generation of scalable, job-creating ventures.
According to a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Education, Folashade Boriowo, Friday, the initiative will be formally unveiled in August by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
Boriowo stated that the minister made the disclosure during a stakeholders’ engagement session held in Abuja in the presence of vice-chancellors, provosts, rectors, student leaders, academic staff, and development partners, and will chart a collective course for nurturing student-led innovation.
The statement noted that the grant targets full-time undergraduate students in STEMM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences), specifically those in 300 level and above.
“Each selected student-led project will be eligible to receive startup funding of up to N50 million, along with access to mentorship, incubation services and business development support.
“The initiative will be implemented in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to ensure financial transparency, impact measurement and effective project execution.
“S-VCG is not just a grant. It’s a launchpad for bold, young innovators to lead Nigeria’s industrial and technological transformation,” said Alausa.
Speaking at the session, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the grant as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s knowledge economy.
“We’re building a stronger, more competitive future by supporting innovation from the ground up,” she said, adding that the programme’s design was informed by months of consultation with students, faculty and institutional leaders.
Participants at the event welcomed the STEMM-Up Grant as a timely, strategic and high-impact initiative that will drive youth innovation, tackle graduate unemployment, and position Nigeria as a hub for student-led entrepreneurship in Africa.
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