The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on Tuesday assured Nigerians that the ongoing amendment to the Electoral Act, 2022, would be completed on or before December 2025 and used for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.

Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District, gave the assurance in a statement shortly after the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, read President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s letter requesting the confirmation of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

President Tinubu nominated Amupitan, a Professor of Law, following the unanimous approval of his appointment by the Council of State last Wednesday after the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as INEC Chairman.

Explaining the delay in the previous amendment, Bamidele said the Muhammadu Buhari administration could not sign the last aspect of the Electoral Bill in 2022 because it was transmitted too close to the general elections.

He said:

“Before then, we had made our first proposal and it was signed into law. But when certain observations were made  especially regarding the disenfranchisement of statutory delegates — the National Assembly moved to correct it.

However, the late President Muhammadu Buhari declined to sign the correction, saying it was coming too close to the elections and he did not want to be misunderstood by the public. That was why it wasn’t signed.”

Bamidele added that the current National Assembly would not repeat the same mistake, assuring that the amendment process would be concluded well ahead of the 2027 polls.

“Between now and December 2025, we will ensure that the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2022 is concluded so that it will not be too close to the elections,” he stated.

On the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Senate Leader, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Senate Constitution Review Committee, dismissed fears that the presidency might resist the process.

According to him, the review enjoys strong collaboration between the legislature and relevant executive agencies.

“I do not envisage any resistance because public institutions are working with the National Assembly for the successful review of the 1999 Constitution. Global best practices will be taken into consideration,” Bamidele said.

Addressing criticisms from the opposition, the Senate Leader noted that it was natural for rival parties to downplay government achievements.

“No matter how well a government is performing, the opposition will never agree because they are plotting to reclaim the presidency. They would prefer to see the ruling party fighting itself, but the APC is a focused party,” he stated.

Speaking on the agenda of the 10th Senate in its third legislative year, Bamidele said the National Assembly had several key issues to address, including the Electoral Act amendment and the constitution review.

“We are now at the stage of engagements, which will be largely behind closed doors. We will engage the presidential team early instead of waiting until all the bills are ready. Any of the bills that are ready will be sent to the president for assent,” he added.

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that no part of Nigeria is excluded from the nation’s development agenda.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this on Thursday during a visit to the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, as part of the two-day Citizens’ Engagement Series and Federal Government Projects Tour of the South East.

“The Tinubu administration is committed to ensuring that no region is left behind in Nigeria’s development drive,” Idris said, noting that infrastructure upgrades in Enugu, including modern roads, upgraded schools, and improved public facilities, demonstrate the tangible benefits of the administration’s policies.

Governor Mbah credited the financing of the state’s ongoing infrastructure projects to President Bola Tinubu’s removal of the oil subsidy, describing the decision as bold and strategic.

“For us in Enugu, we are able to accomplish all we promised our people during the campaign, thanks to the bold decision taken by President Bola Tinubu, which has freed up resources needed to execute humongous capital projects,” Mbah said.

He listed projects underway in the state to include the construction of 7,000 classrooms, 3,300 hospital beds, and 2,000 hectares of farm estates across 260 wards. Mbah also pledged continued support for federal government policies, describing them as being in the best interest of Enugu residents.

***Bamidele Donates Three Vehicles, One Ambulance, Others To The University

The federal government has inaugurated the Governing Council of the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences (FUTES) in Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State alongside its principal officers, disclosing that the newly established institution will kick off full operations in September 2025.

Shortly after the inauguration, Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele officially donated two Toyota Coaster Buses, one Toyota Hilux Utility Vehicle, one Toyota Hiace Ambulance and two motorcycles, among others, to the university to fast-track its takeoff as scheduled.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa inaugurated the governing council and principal officers of the university on Tuesday in Abuja, saying the university was created to develop manpower in areas the country was having a human capital deficit.

At the inauguration were the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad; Pro-Chancellor and Chairperson of the University Governing Council, Senator Binta Garba; Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Olugbenga Aribisala and Chief Executive Officer, Premium Trust Bank, Mr. Emmanuel Emefienim, among others.

During the inauguration on Tuesday, the minister commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for paying special attention to the country’s education sector, disclosing that the Ministry of Education received the third highest budget for the first time in the history of Nigeria.

Alausa added that the newly established university would kick off full operations in September 2025, disclosing that the Federal Ministry of Education had officially briefed the National Universities Commission and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to add it to the list of the country’s universities.

The minister justified the establishment of the university, which according to him, perfectly aligned with the action plan of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to speed up the development of human capital in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and create limitless opportunities for the country’s upcoming generations.

He explained that the newly established university would focus on training and producing graduates in core areas of specialisation where no fewer 2.2 millions job opportunities “are presently available, though nobody is available to take up those opportunities.”

Unlike most of the universities currently in operation, the minister noted that FUTES would be producing high-demand manpower for national development in the area of software engineering, proactive security, cloud computing, IT automation, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

He said: “As part of our Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), we have an expansive focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences. Why does this university focus on these areas? What necessitated the establishment of this university? How can we equip our teeming youths with these much-needed skills?

“The need to bridge the human capital deficit in these core areas spurred the birth of FUTES. The university will equip our teeming youths with high-tech skills that the country’s digital economy requires to blossom. It will also equip our youths with high-income skills they need to help themselves, their community they live in, our country and the world at large.

“We need these skills to shape geo-politics in the 21st century. If you go to countries in Europe and North America, the population is ageing fast. They do not have enough people to serve the manpower they need. If we position ourselves well, we will be able to give them the manpower they need in the decades ahead. We can continue to shape geopolitics if we prepare ourselves to fill this gap. That is what President Tinubu is quietly doing in our education sector. He is investing in education to equip our youths with durable skills that are in high demand globally.

Also at the inauguration, Bamidele commended the minister for what he did to ensure that President Tinubu signed the bill establishing the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin Ekiti into law.

Before the bill was signed into law, Bamidele explained how the host community went into work; set up a take off committee and secure a location for the new university to demonstrate their readiness for the institution.

He further explained that the host community made all these efforts even when they had not known what the decision of the president would be, who would chair the university’s governing council or where the principal officers of the university would come from.

According to the senate leader, at least seven retired professors from the host community of the university were utterly committed to its seamless takeoff. One of the retired professors, Late Prof. Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi, was the first professor of architecture in West Africa. He was the one who suggested that “Environmental Sciences should reflect in the name of the institution

Bamidele, therefore, called for a one-minute silence in honour of Late Prof. Akinyemi the first professor of architecture in West Africa, who recently passed on while still in active service to his community, state and his fatherland.

Speaking at the inauguration, Aribisala explained the distinctiveness of the university is unique, saying it was the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria, which would offer specialised programmes.

The programmes, according to him, will include Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Forestry and Environmental Management, Industrial Designs, Cyber Security, Data Science and Economics, Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering, among others.

Aribisala noted that the vision of the university was “to create a 21st century world-class institution that is a reputable citadel of learning and a global player in the knowledge production, a university that is ICT-driven and residential for both staff and students.