Akpabio Confronts Igini … Teams Up With Ekere To Retrieve Mandate
By UbongAbasi Ise
The lawmaker representing Akwa
Ibom Northwest (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has
spoken on certain malpractices he personally observed during March 9 polls in
Akwa Ibom State, bringing up some instances as he questioned the credibility of
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, under the watch
of Mr. Mike Igini, the Akwa Ibom Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC.
Senator Akpabio, while interacting
with newsmen on Monday, said he was not surprised about the outcome of
Saturday’s election as long as the umpire in the state showed in all
circumstances, that he was not prepared to superintend over justice as far as the
2019 general elections are concerned. He maintained that his party, the All
Progressives Congress, APC, won at the polling units, but lost at the collation
centres.
The former senate minority
leader noted that the result of his polling unit was cancelled by INEC under
inexplicable circumstance despite full usage of card reader in voters’ accreditation
as well as the peaceful election atmosphere as induced by the presence of a
commissioner of police and other security agents at his polling unit.
On the total number of votes
scored by the APC in Essien Udim local government where he hails from, Akpabio queried
6,938 votes recorded for his party which won the local government area in the
gubernatorial election despite the area having about 105, 555 registered voters.
According to him, Essien Udim has not voted below 50,000 in any election since
1960 until the recent elections.
He said the local government
area earlier polled about 73,000 votes for Obong Nsima Ekere, the APC
gubernatorial candidate, but the number was pruned down to 6,938 on getting to
Mr. Mike Igini’s office in Uyo. He promised to work with his party to retrieve
the mandate, while leaving Igini to God.
“Imagine Essien Udim, my local
government area; since 1960, we have never voted below 50,000. It is the most
populous voting strength in Akwa Ibom State after Uyo local government area. It
has about 114,000 people, and they said about 105,000 people received PVCs, and
what was the result at the end? In my local government, we gave Obong Nsima
Ekere 73,000 votes. How can you explain that a local government area with over
105,000 registered voters only voted 6000 at the end of the day? First result announced
at the local government level was 73,000; they said no, there are some places
card readers failed, and they reduced it to about 43,000 for the governorship
candidate, and the House of Representative member got about 47,000, and then
they raised his hand and said elected. Then they brought it to Uyo, in Mike
Igini’s office. He started another round of collation, by the time it ended, he
gave my local government with 105,000 voters 6,000 only. I will leave it to
God, but for the vote I want to assure the people of the state, I will join
with my party, the APC, to retrieve my mandate,” he said.
Senator Godswill Akpabio
further alleged how Mr. Mike Igini, few hours to the commencement of the
gubernatorial and the state house of assembly elections, brought in members of
the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, as collation officers, some of whom he
personally recognized. He vowed to team up with Obong Nsima Ekere, who he said,
won in 26 out of 31 local government in the state, to reclaim the mandate.
“Those who came to do the
collation, I recognized some of them; I saw clear PDP members. I never knew that they were actually collation
officers from INEC but I knew them as PDP members. One of them contested this
year’s primary election for the senate in Uyo senatorial district. I patted him
on the back; I thought he was a party agent, but my mind was how could he be a
party agent in my local government? The man come from Ibesikpo Asutan but I
never knew that he was working there as an INEC official. He was wearing face-cap;
when I entered, he was trying to hide his face, I just laughed. I recognized
some of them. You don’t move a goalpost after the penalty had been blown.
“By 2.am, we received
information that new collation officers had been appointed - few hours to the
commencement of the exercise. The list that was published at INEC was gone, and
new collation officers suddenly emerged. And 99% of the new collation officers
were all PDP members and officials. Even the senior brother of the ‘House of
Representative-elect’ in Abak in PDP was a collation officer in my ward.
“I don’t know why Mr. Mike
Igini should come and be such a biased umpire. He said he fought for democracy,
but I believe he is fighting to destroy the democracy, I will leave him to God,
but in terms of the victory, I want to join the governorship candidate of our
great party, the APC, who clearly won in the 26 out of 31 local government
areas to say that we must employ all legal means to ensure that we retrieve
this mandate.
“I stand with my party to say
that we won election on the 9th of March; we won election in the 26
of the local government areas in Akwa Ibom but Mr. Mike Igini and his INEC did
two sets of collation, one at the local government level after we’ve finished
at the polling unit, another on at the INEC office,” said Akpabio.
He stressed how INEC went
ahead to cancel elections in nine out of eleven wards in Essien Udim local
government area, while questioning the basis of announcing the House of
Assembly member-elect on result of only two wards.
©The Sensor Newspaper
>March 9 Polls: A’Ibom APC Spits On Results … Claims Victory In 26 LGAs … Calls For Cancellation To Avoid Breakdown of Law
>Blood Trails March 9 Polls In Ukanafun, Essien Udim … As Udo Kierian Allegedly Ruins Oruk Anam elections
>Electoral Fraud In Uyo! Councilor Indulges In Massive Vote-Buying For PDP … His Brother One of the INEC Ad Hoc Staff At CKS Polling Unit
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