Akpabio Vs Ekpeyong: Blame Igini For Manipulation, Returning Officer Tells Tribunal
By UbongAbasi Ise
The resumed hearing on the
petition filed by Senator Godswill Akpabio against the declaration of Senator
Chris Ekpeyong as the winner of February 23 Akwa Ibom North West senatorial
election was on Saturday taken another interesting dimension when the Peoples'
Democratic Party, PDP, called their witnesses to testify before the national
assembly election tribunal sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
A star witness of the day, Dr.
William Olosunde, a lecturer in the University of Uyo, who served as the
returning officer for Essien Udim local government area during the election,
confessed before the tribunal that he did not make any cancellation on Essien
Udim result (Exhibit P534) but noted that alterations were done after the result
was taken out of area office of the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, in Essien Udim to its state headquarters in Uyo on the orders of Mr. Mike
Igini, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Akwa Ibom State.
He said in Essien Udim, 61,
329 votes were polled by the All Progressives Congress, APC, while the PDP
scored 9,050 votes, adding that those results were not cancelled in the local
government area by him until he was asked by the commission to effect
cancellations at the INEC headquarters in Uyo.
Amidst violence and thuggery
claims during election in Essien Udim, the witness disclosed before the
tribunal that he actually made those entries in P534 while admitting that he
was not forced by anybody to enter score in the result sheet, although he later
maintained that there were presence of suspected thugs in the area but he would
not know which political party could have been their sponsors.
Speaking on the situation at
the collation centre in Essien Udim, the witness said the agents of the
political parties were in the hall during collation exercise while the police,
the military and other security personnel were outside manning the premises of
the collation centre.
As gathered from the
cross-examination of Dr. William Olosunde by our correspondent, Exhibit P534
had two results on it with none cancelled. The first result recorded in Essien
Udim has the figure of 72,572 as the total number of accredited voters with APC’s
votes being 61,329 while PDP have 9,050. The second result said to be written
at INEC headquarters in Uyo which Mr. Mike Igini incorporated into Akwa Ibom
Northwest senatorial district result, has 9,964 as the total number of
accredited voters with APC polling 6,241 while PDP have 3,422 votes.
Lead counsel to the petitioner, S.I. Ameh, SAN, while
referring the witness to the smart card reader report (R253A), questioned him why
19,455 voters accredited with smart card reader was suddenly pruned down to
9,964 at INEC office in Uyo, Dr. Olosunde said the results of seven wards and
some units in other four wards were cancelled because they were not in
substantial compliance with INEC guidelines, which reduced the number of
accredited voters to 9,964 as contained in Exhibit P534.
Meanwhile the petitioner, Senator Godswill Akpabio had
earlier testified and noted that unlike the number registered voters, 105,555,
that was typed on the sheet, the ‘new’ INEC’s number of accredited voters,
which was 9,964 on the document (P534), was handwritten at the row meant for
ward 18 out of 22, explaining that his local government area has 11 wards and not
22 or 18.
©The Sensor
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