The Anambra State Governor’s wife, Dr Nonye Soludo, has issued a strong call to action, urging residents of the state to actively participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which commenced this month and runs until July 17.

In a statement released recently, Dr. Soludo described the exercise as a vital civic duty, emphasising that obtaining a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) is the first and most crucial step toward influencing leadership and driving meaningful change in the state.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially kicked off the much-awaited Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) for all voting categories in Anambra State,” she stated.

The registration will hold daily across all 326 political wards from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., including weekends.

Dr. Soludo explained that the exercise was open to individuals who need new PVCs, have relocated, misplaced or damaged their cards, or are yet to collect theirs from previous registration rounds.

She encouraged eligible residents to take advantage of what she described as a “great window” to register, update, or retrieve their voting credentials.

“Don’t let this opportunity pass you by,” she urged. “If you are staying in Anambra and are of voting age, ensure you’re not left behind. This is your right and your responsibility.”

She reiterated that the PVC was the only legitimate tool through which citizens can express their political will.

“It is only with your PVC that you can translate your voice into real action. Don’t disenfranchise yourself. Find time to do what’s right. Get that PVC,” she appealed.

Dr. Soludo concluded her message with a prayer: “May Anambra continue to rise.”

Her remarks have resonated particularly with young and first-time voters, sparking renewed enthusiasm as the state prepares for its November 8, 2025, gubernatorial election.

Confidence Okwuchi

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has appealed the National Assembly to urgently pass a law criminalising unexplained wealth.

He said Nigeria cannot win the anti-corruption war without legal backing to hold public officers accountable for assets far beyond their legitimate earnings.

Speaking during the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance,  organised by the Public Accounts Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja, Olukoyede described the magnitude of public sector corruption as disturbing.

He also revealed that the EFCC had only just begun examining the books of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, and what had emerged so far was mind-boggling, yet only a fraction of the rot.

“In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling.

“And we have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unraveled. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath,” he said.

The EFCC Chairman said this discovery underscores how deeply embedded fiscal misgovernance is across the system, calling fiscal rascality and mismanagement of public resources a core driver of Nigeria’s economic woes and security challenges.

“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity. When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, trace it back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives,” he said.

Olukoyede, who previously served as Secretary to the EFCC before his confirmation as Chairman, lamented the legal bottlenecks hindering the Commission’s ability to prosecute suspicious cases.

He recounted how investigations into public officers often stall because the law still requires a “predicate offence” — a specific crime such as theft or fraud — before assets can be seized or charges filed.

“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past one year. This same bill was thrown out in the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right.

“Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five properties — two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd,” he said.

The proposed legislation, he explained, would make it a strict liability offence for any individual to possess assets grossly beyond their known and legal income sources.

“Once you are living beyond your means, you should be held to account. Until we do this, there will always be an escape route for the corrupt,” he said.

Tracking Illicit Assets 

Mr. Olukoyede painted a grim picture of the global dimensions of Nigeria’s looted wealth, revealing that the Commission was currently tracking illicit assets across multiple jurisdictions, from America and Turkey to the most unexpected locations like Iceland.

“Last month alone, I visited four or five countries chasing Nigeria’s stolen assets. An ambassador even told me they discovered an estate in Iceland owned by a Nigerian. Iceland of all places!” he said.

The EFCC boss admitted that no anti-graft agency, no matter how efficient, can recover more than half of what has been looted.

“There is no amount of capacity I can build, no level of effort I can put in, that will enable me to recover even half of what has been stolen from Nigeria because the custodians of those assets in foreign countries don’t want to let go. And they won’t,” he said.

He did not spare those foreign governments either. He called them out for enabling corruption by keeping stolen funds under various pretexts.

He added that under international law, the custodian of stolen assets is just as guilty as the original thief.

“I told them at the United Nations Forum last December that if you are holding onto Nigeria’s stolen assets, we see you as an accessory after the fact. They grumbled, but I didn’t care,” he said.

The EFCC Chairman criticized the widespread culture of impunity in Nigeria’s public service, where those already under prosecution are often celebrated, and compliance with financial laws is flouted with impunity.

“We are doing this work. We see people who have stolen our money. We have shown you evidence. We’ve traced where the money went. We are already in court. Yet, they’re being celebrated all over the place. Does that show we’re serious?” he asked.

He said even calls for compliance are often met with subtle resistance, noting that over 700 federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) continue to operate without adequate internal controls.

He questioned the National Assembly’s capacity to oversee them all and called for structural reforms that can prevent leakages before they happen.

“How many books can you check? How many files will you read? We need to build strong internal compliance systems that can proactively checkmate corruption,” he said.

Olukoyede said that corruption is stalling Nigeria’s economic potential.

He cited his own analysis, presented during his Senate confirmation, that showed 90% of stolen public funds in a single year ended up abroad.

That money, he said, could have built hospitals, schools, and supported millions of Nigerian students from primary to tertiary level.

“If we execute even 60% of our capital budget efficiently between 2025 and 2026, we will empower small and medium-scale industries. We’ll build infrastructure. We’ll be fine,” he said.

He emphasised that Nigeria has no business borrowing to survive, given the natural and mineral wealth it possesses.

“What we need is transparency in revenue generation and accountability in public expenditure,” he said.

Mr. Olukoyede called on political leaders to unite across party and ethnic lines to confront corruption head-on, describing the current administration as Nigeria’s “last best chance” to get it right.

“If we miss it under this administration, I pity Nigeria. Let’s put politics aside. Let’s put ethnicity aside. This is about rescuing the soul of Nigeria,” he said.

He urged members of the National Assembly and the public to ignore the inevitable backlash from vested interests and social media trolls.

Confidence Okwuchi

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abbas Tajudeen says the 10th National Assembly is currently working on proposals to bring about a three-tier traditional institutions in Nigeria through the ongoing alteration of the 1999 constitution.

The Speaker stated this in Abuja during an interactive session with traditional rulers as part of activities for the 2025 Open NASS Week organised by the leadership of the House in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC).

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Assembly Library Trust Fund (NALTF) provided support for the event.

Chairing the second session of the day after the first one featuring women/gender advocacy groups, Speaker Abbas informed the traditional rulers led by the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli said the proposed three tiers of traditional institutions would cut across federal, state, and local governments to complement the efforts of the political class.

“Permit me just to give you an insight into what the National Assembly is deliberating on as far as traditional institutions are concerned. The 10th National Assembly is actively entertaining proposals to grant some constitutional recognition to traditional institutions. In so doing, there are proposals to have a three-tier traditional council structure as follows: 

“We should have a National Council of Traditional Rulers; it will be an apex body to advise the President on issues of national unity, security, and cultural affairs. 

“The second tier will be the State Council of Chiefs to be constitutionally recognized by state governments regarding issues of customary laws, peacebuilding, and development. “And then Local Government Traditional Council to formally engage with local governments, especially on security, peacebuilding, and community development,” he said.

The Speaker stated further that “these proposals are based on the unimplemented Section 8 of the 1989 draft constitution, which provided for a local government traditional council presided over by traditional rulers.”

Speaker Abbas also noted that one important issue that has often been ignored is that of financial autonomy for the traditional institutions.

He said the incidence of having to go cap-in-hand to state governors or local government chairmen puts the traditional institutions in serious disadvantage, saying financially guaranteed traditional institutions would function better for all in terms of service delivery.

Also responding to concerns of political victimization and harassment by the political class, particularly during and after elections, Speaker Abbas said the legislature will strive toward achieving a constitutional protection for traditional rulers—to shield them from being coerced into partisanship by those in elective offices during campaign periods.

In a remark, Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli said traditional rulers were simply asking for the reinstatement of their previous leadership and administrative roles of peacebuilding, crime prevention, and culture preservation, among others.

He recalled that all pre-independence constitutions recognized the role of traditional institutions up to the 1963 Republican Constitution, after which the provisions were removed from subsequent amendments.

He noted that since the ommision, a lot has gone wrong due to the inability of state agencies to adequately relate to happenings in rural areas without the active involvement of traditional institutions.

Other royal fathers commended the Speaker for his efforts at ensuring that the traditional institutions in Nigeria are once again recognized constitutionally.

They noted that traditional rulers play critical roles in crisis management as well as crime prevention.

Confidence Okwuchi