A former member of the Abia State House of Assembly, representing Ukwa East Constituency, Chief Paul Taribo, along with Mrs Theresa Oxford Nwabara and their supporters numbering over 100, have defected to the Labour Party in the state.

Chief Taribo, who was until recently a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said that his decision to join the Labour Party was motivated by Governor Alex Otti’s achievements and his desire to contribute to the Governor’s re-election in 2027.

The former APC chieftain pledged his loyalty and commitment to the Labour Party, assuring members of his readiness to work to deepen the party’s presence and influence in Ikwueke East Ward and Ukwa East council Area.

The former APC chieftain pledged his loyalty and commitment to the Labour Party, assuring members of his readiness to work to deepen the party’s presence and influence in Ikwueke East Ward and Ukwa East council Area.

Chief Taribo expressed his confidence in Otti’s leadership style, vision, and developmental agenda, as well as that of the Chairman of Ukwa East council, Hon. Chibunna Akara.

He said; “I left my former party , the APC, to join the Labour Party, because I m motivated by the visible achievements of Governor Alex Otti and the desire to contribute to his re-election.

These are the major factors that informed my decision to align with the Labour Party.

”In his remarks, Chairman of Ukwa East LGA, Hon. Chibunna Akara described the ex-lawmaker as a valuable addition to the party, stressing that the Labour Party remains a broad, inclusive platform that welcomes all well-meaning individuals committed to service and development, regardless of their political background.

• Lecky

A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mustapha Lecky has stated that Nigeria is not technically prepared for mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.

In a public statement, Lecky argued that the current push for instantaneous uploads is misplaced given the country’s continued reliance on manual voting with paper ballots rather than electronic voting.

“It doesn’t really make sense to me that we should be talking about instantaneous transmission of results live as it is happening from the polling area,” Lecky said.

He emphasized that results must first be manually counted and verified at polling units in the presence of party agents before any transmission can occur.

The EC8A form, signed by party agents, remains the critical legal document in the process.

According to Lecky, existing tools such as INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) already provide adequate transparency when properly implemented.

Lecky stressed that Nigeria lacks the nationwide infrastructure—particularly reliable mobile network coverage in many rural polling units—necessary to support real-time electronic transmission without risking widespread failures or cyber vulnerabilities.

The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has condemned in very strong terms the decision of the Senate to remove and refuse the mandatory electronic transmission of election results as proposed by the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026.

Leaders of the Steering Council of the newly launched MCE include: Dr Usman Bugaje, Prof Pat Utomi, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Barr Femi Falana, SAN, Amb Nkoyo Toyo, Hajia (Dr) Bilikisu Magoro, Comrade Ene Obi, Comrade Salisu Mohammed, Comrade Bala Zakka, among others.

In a statement signed on Saturday in Abuja by MCE Media Coordinator, Comrade James Ezema, the group described the action of the Senate as not lawmaking, but a deliberate democratic sabotage against the aspiration of the people of the country as Mandatory electronic transmission of results is not controversial.

The body has called on the Senate to immediately reinstate and pass the mandatory electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, as well as publicly account for those members who opposed this clause, so they do not use the cover of the Senate or House of Representatives to avoid public scrutiny and explanation of their positions to Nigerians.

According to MCE, Nigerians must ensure that they are made to account for the use of legislative powers as a system they have benefited from in the last twenty six years since Nigeria became a democratic state.

According to the group, the transmission process is a minimum safeguard against result tampering, ballot rewriting, and post-election fraud, warning that any legislature that blocks it is openly defending a system that thrives on electoral corruption, stolen mandates and manufactured elections.