Catch me if you can
Tinubu has allegedly appointed APC members as electoral commissioners
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Let’s get into the news you missed during the weekend:
Tinubu has allegedly appointed APC members as electoral commissioners
The Trump-Elon ship has officially sunk
The Big Deal
Tinubu has allegedly appointed APC members as electoral commissioners
Nothing says election season like drama and a whole lot of “allegedly” flying around. 2027 might be two years away, but the drama is already starting, and President Tinubu is the main character.
In March 2025, the president nominated five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Senate appointed them two months later, in May.
Typically, that appointment shouldn’t spark any controversy, but the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) finds it interesting for many reasons. According to the accountability organisation, at least three of these appointed commissioners are alleged members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
SERAP made its concerns known in a statement shared on its website on Sunday, June 8. It politely but firmly urged the president to use his “good offices and leadership position” to replace the partisan nominees with qualified Nigerians who are independent, neutral, and definitely not card-carrying members of any political party.
The organisation also proposed a solution: it wants the president to direct the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, to draft and send a bill to the National Assembly to strengthen INEC’s independence because it believes this proactive step could help wipe away the mistrust that tainted the 2023 elections. It also added that INEC shouldn’t be treated like some government agency under political control. It’s supposed to be a neutral institution serving the people, not politicians.
As SERAP put it, appointing political figures to oversee elections is “antithetical to constitutional and international standards and the notion of the rule of law.”
Why is this a big deal?
The 1999 constitution might be getting a review, but it’s still very clear what INEC can or cannot be. Section 153(1)(f) of the Constitution emphasises the need for an Independent National Electoral Commission. The amended 2022 Electoral Law also bars INEC members from engaging in anything related to politics, with a minimum of five years in jail or a ₦5 million fine as a penalty for offenders.
If SERAP’s allegations are factual, then the president and the Senate owe Nigerians serious answers.
The Emilokan train has been moving recently, and even though the president hasn’t announced his political ambition for 2027, it has become pretty obvious. These allegations suggest that he might even be watering the ground for a potential win.
SERAP pointed out that public trust in INEC relies heavily on the perceived independence of its officials. If the commission starts looking like a political branch of the ruling party, it’s game over for credible elections.
Are the RECs—Umar Yusuf Garba, Sa’ad Umar Idris, Chukwuemeka Obeziako, Umar Mukhtar, and Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem— card-carrying members of the APC? Only time will tell.
Nigerian politicians have always moved with an interesting category of audacity that screams, “Catch me if you can,” but we hope the Tinubu-led administration will rate its citizens enough to debunk or address SERAP’s allegations.
The Trump-Elon ship has officially sunk
You know what’s worse than losing the love of your actual life? Losing the love of your political life; ask the President of the United States (US), Donald Trump.
On Saturday, June 7, Trump confirmed that his once-bromantic (politically speaking) relationship with tech billionaire Elon Musk is officially dead and buried.
When NBC News asked if he was interested in fixing it, Trump stood on business and said the most brutal “no” in history.
What happened to the political duo?
Musk had been shading Trump for weeks, despite once having a front-row seat in his inner circle as a White House adviser. The shade wasn’t some random drama; it was Musk’s reaction to Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ To the US President, this bill is a tax and spending plan he hoped would define his presidency. To Musk, it’s “a disgusting abomination.”
If you’re wondering how US Vice President J.D. Vance feels about this, the short answer is that he’s #TeamTrump. He said Musk’s attacks had “gone so nuclear” that he might never be welcomed back into Republican good graces again.
But Musk dragged the president and his crew again on X on June 5, hinting that Trump got honourable mentions in unreleased files connected to Jeffrey Epstein, a sex trafficker. That post has been deleted, but the screenshot has been archived in the internet’s petty museum forever. Epstein’s lawyer denied everything, but the agenda has gone global already.
Trump clapped back in what is now looking like one of the worst breakups in history, calling Musk “crazy” and threatening to take government contracts from his companies.
To return the favour, Musk, who once poured $250 million into Trump’s campaign, is threatening to fund his enemies. In response, Trump has told Musk that there would be “serious consequences” if the billionaire supports Democrats.
This drama wasn’t exactly on our 2025 bingo card, but life has a funny way of surprising us.
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The Big Picks
ACF Criticises Tinubu For Prioritising 2027 Campaign Over National Issues: The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed disappointment that the ruling All Progressives Congress led by President Bola Tinubu is more obsessed with unprecedented early campaigns, defections to its fold and other maneuvers for re-election in 2027, rather than addressing the security challenges and other existential challenges confronting the nation.
Uniport Demands Probe Into Alleged Killing Of Student By Security Operative: The University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) has called for a thorough investigation into the killing of one of its students, Godwin Akpakpan, a 300-level Computer Science undergraduate, who was allegedly shot dead by a security operative in an off-campus incident.
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