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2015 Polls: Controversy Trails INEC’s N9Bn Ballot Papers Contract

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Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
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Crisis is reportedly brewing at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the decision of the Commission to contract the printing of the ballot papers to be used for the presidential and governorship elections to a foreign firm at the cost of N6 billion.

The Commission is yet to award the controversial contract to any of the foreign firms, but Vanguard Newspapers gathered that it has, however, set in motion the process that will lead to the award of the pricey job to either an American or European firm any moment from now.

To ascertain which firm should be given the job, top officials of INEC are set to depart Nigeria this week for the United States of America, Germany, Italy and Ukraine in the first leg of the move to inspect elite printing companies, which can handle the job, classified as ‘security documents’ by the commission.

According to Vanguard Newspapers, under the plan, which has already been wrapped up by the commission, the sum of N6 billion is to be used in printing ballot papers meant for the presidential and governorship election slated for February next year.

Similarly, the commission has set aside the sum of N3 billion to be paid to local printers to produce the ballot papers to be used for the National Assembly and House of Assembly elections in Nigeria next year.

In all the commission will spend a whopping N9 billion for the printing of ballot papers for the five set of elections, which the electoral body has decided to stagger because of its claim that it does not have adequate logistics to run it simultaneously.

A competent source in INEC told Vanguard that many officials, who were uncomfortable with the decision of the management to farm out the job to outsiders, have made their opposition known to Prof Attahiru Jega, INEC chairman.

One of the sources close to the commission said: “The INEC officials will visit the United States of America, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, among others to inspect some printing presses that will produce the ballot papers for the next general elections in 2015.

“INEC will specifically produce the presidential and governorship ballot papers abroad while those of the National Assembly and House of Assembly will be printed in Nigeria. The proposed budget for the overseas printing is put at over N6 billion.

Vanguard learnt that those opposed to the printing of the papers abroad have reportedly drawn the attention of INEC Chairman to the fact that it was against the interest of Nigeria for such action to be taken at the time when the Presidency had already made a case for the printing of the documents locally.

The antagonists of the proposal, Vanguard also gathered, had reportedly opted to report the action of the management to President Goodluck Jonathan, who only last week made a case for the printing of security documents with the Nigerian Security and Minting Printing Compan (NSMPC),  as a means of promoting national security and job creation.

The angry officials are said to have queried the rationale of taking such a huge and security-related job outside Nigeria when there were many local printing companies that could conveniently handle it.

To prove their point that the papers could be printed locally, the officials cited the successful printing of the ballot papers used in the Anambra, Ekiti and Osun elections by local contractors.

According to them, the papers that were printed within the country were foul-proof and passed all INEC’s security checks.

While kicking against the foreign contract, the officials, who pleaded anonymity, called on the Federal Government to stop the commission from awarding the job to foreigners especially as the materials needed for the printing were also available in the country.

They also pointed to the fact that the 2011 election was postponed because of the non-delivery of the ballot papers sprinted abroad on time.

But a senior INEC official told Vanguard on Monday that the commission would remain focused in its honest and earnest desire to ensure the success of the 2015 election.

Defending the decision of the management to print the papers abroad, the officials, who pleaded anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak on the matter, said that no company in Nigeria had the capacity to produce the quality and quantity of paper required and be able to deliver to the commission before December this year.

“We are concerned about the capacity of printing press in Nigeria. The time available to us as a commission to conduct the election and the quality and quantity of materials to be delivered by the local contractors do matter to us,” the official said.

“If you must know, for us to conduct the election in February 2015, it means that we must take delivery of the ballot papers in December this year to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2011 when we had to postpone an election because of the late arrival of ballot papers from South Africa,” the officer added.

Reminded that the President last week made a case for the printing of such vital documents with the NSMPC of Nigeria, the officer said, “Well, as we get along and the capacity of the company to handle such assignments grow, we will patronize it. For now, there is none in the country to do such complex job for INEC,” he said.


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Xenophobic Attacks: Anonymous Nigeria Threatens to Leak South African Stolen Data

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Anonymous Nigeria, hacktivism, known for launching coordinated cyberattacks and protests in support of socio-political movements, has threatened to leak stolen South African government data unless its demands were met.

Xenophobic Attacks: Anonymous Nigeria Threatens to Leak South African Stolen Data

The group, called for the department to stop xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, or it will expose the data.

“They call themselves correctional services, but they can’t correct the citizens. What a shame,” the group said in its Telegram channel, MyBroadband reported.

“They killed a lot of Nigerians while the so-called correctional services watched and the ministry of justice.”

It is immediately know if Anonymous Nigeria is affiliated to Nullsec Nigeria.

But in a post on a hacker forum, Nullsec Nigeria included a link showcasing an example of data stolen from the department.

It included two bid invitation notices, bid results, a copy of the bids received, and a notice of a bid awarded in various formats.

“We’ll expose all your evil deeds for the world to see, unless this attack stops. But if not, we’ll leak everything they got,” Nullsec Nigeria said.

“Unless the government of South Africa ends these xenophobic attacks on Nigeria, we’ll expose everything about you, your evil deeds will be exposed, and the world shall know.”

MyBroadband asked the Department of Correctional Services about the claimed breach and Nullsec Nigeria’s demands, but it did not immediately respond to our questions.

Nullsec Nigeria also claimed responsibility for breaching several other entities in South Africa, while responding to an X post about its OpSouthAfrica campaign in its Telegram channel.

“I wanna express something here. I saw a report on the #OpSouthAfrica hack by Nullsec Nigeria, but it was stolen by another person,” it said. “Tag the real breachers next time.”

In a separate thread on the hacker forum, Nullsec Nigeria also claimed responsibility for breaching the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality’s systems.

It claimed to have hacked the local government’s website and threatened to expose “everything you got for others to see how heartless you are. You killed mothers, brothers, students.”

Nullsec Nigeria said the breach and the threats were in response to the xenophobic attacks on and killing of Nigerians and the South African government’s supposed silence on the issue.

“These attacks are still going on in the dark, and we’ll expose them all. If the South African government doesn’t act first, the whole of South Africa will suffer,” it said.

“This is just a wave. These documents are about 11GB, but we decided to pull just this one.”

Its post included two images: one for a public hearing and another, a handwritten tender document for the appointment of an insurance service provider.

It also included a link to several other documents, including an old annual report, council resolutions, financial statements, and various other notices.

The Nigerian Government recently announced plans to bring citizens back to the country from South Africa after violent protests over foreign nationals in the country erupted earlier in May.

President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the protests and criminal acts directed at foreign nationals in his From the Desk of The President weekly newsletter on 11 May 2026.

He emphasised the recent demonstrations and attacks did not represent the views of the South African people, nor the government’s policy.

“These are the acts of opportunists who are exploiting the legitimate grievances, particularly those of the poor, under the false guise of ‘community activism’,” The President said.

“Some of these people are assuming functions that only state officials are permitted to perform, including stopping people to check identification and conducting searches of private property.”

He added that such lawlessness would not be tolerated, regardless of who the perpetrators or victims were.


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MTN Targets 8m Homes in Fibre Expansion Drive

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MTN Nigeria says it plans to pass fibre to eight million homes over the next three years as part of efforts to deepen broadband penetration and expand digital service offerings across the country.

MTN Targets 8m Homes in Fibre Expansion Drive

Tobe Okigbo

Tobe Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, disclosed this at the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) Alumni “Ask Me Anything” session held on Saturday.

Okigbo said the telecom company was making significant investments in home fibre infrastructure despite challenges such as regulatory approvals, physical deployment requirements and the long period needed to recover costs.

According to him, fibre broadband differs from mobile internet services because customers pay for connection speed rather than bandwidth consumption.

He said the investment formed part of MTN’s broader strategy to gradually shift customers from mobile-heavy internet usage to fixed broadband services for home connectivity.

Okigbo noted that the global telecommunications industry was evolving beyond traditional voice and data services, driven by advances in artificial intelligence, 5G, smart devices and internet-connected homes.

He warned that telecom operators that fail to adapt risk becoming mere providers of connectivity infrastructure while technology companies capture greater value from digital services.

“The future of telecoms is no longer just about expanding coverage. It is also about building services and platforms around network infrastructure to remain relevant and competitive,” he said.

On recent tariff increases, Okigbo said the adjustments were necessary to address rising operating costs, inflation and sector sustainability concerns.

He cited increased diesel prices and other operational expenses as major factors affecting the cost of delivering telecom services in Nigeria.

According to him, tariff pricing should increasingly reflect market realities and inflation trends, while allowing consumers to switch providers offering better value.

Speaking on service quality, Okigbo said MTN had compensated customers in cases of poor network performance and remained in discussions with regulators on accountability for service failures.

He explained that discussions were ongoing to distinguish between network issues caused directly by operators and those resulting from external factors such as vandalism, construction activities and infrastructure damage.

Okigbo said MTN supported compensating customers for genuine service lapses but sought clarity on regulatory parameters guiding such liabilities.

He added that fibre deployment remained more complex than mobile network expansion because it involved physical cable installation, local government approvals and detailed service planning.

On mobile money operations, Okigbo said MTN Group had acquired a 60 per cent stake in MoMo across its markets to strengthen competitiveness and improve customer experience.

He said the future of telecoms would also be shaped by embedded connectivity, smart homes, connected vehicles and broader Internet of Things adoption.


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World Bank Blocks Social Media Comments from Nigerians over Loan Backlash

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World Bank has restricted comments on its Instagram page after thousands of Nigerians flooded the platform begging them to stop lending money to Nigeria.

World Bank Blocks Social Media Comments from Nigerians over Loan Backlash

The protest erupted after reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is seeking a fresh $1.25 billion dollar loan for approval on June 26.

Some Nigerians asked the World Bank to provide more details about the purpose of the loan and how the funds would be managed.

Others said the country should reduce dependence on foreign loans and focus on improving local revenue.

The federal government has continued to defend its borrowing plans.

Officials say the funds will support economic reforms, development projects and efforts to strengthen the economy.

Nigeria remains one of the major borrowers from the World Bank in Africa, with different administrations securing loans over the years for infrastructure, social programmes and economic support.


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