Tribunal: Ekpeyong Scared By His Witnesses' Confessions
By UbongAbasi Ise
It was probably a sweating moment for the legal team of the respondents at the national assembly election tribunal sitting in Uyo yesterday when their witnesses' struggled under the fire of cross-examination, to defend the emergence of the 1st Respondent, Senator Chris Ekpeyong, as the winner in February 23 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom Northwest (Ikot Ekpene) district.
Mr. Richard Benjamin, an indigene of Usuk Ukwok in Ini local government area, who served as an agent for the Peoples' Democratic Congress, PDP, at polling unit 5 of ward 10 in his local government area, admitted that Chris Ekpenyong made incorrect submission in paragraph 71 of his written reply filed before the tribunal.
According to Benjamin, the 1st Respondent's statement that elections in Ward 10 were not characterized by irregularities and non-compliance was not correct, describing the error as grammatical.
The witness, who claimed election did not take place at his polling unit because of the invasion of armed thugs suspected to be sponsored by the All Progressives Congress, APC, admitted he came to the polling unit at about 8.00am on the election day, and left the venue at about 10.00am instead of 2.00pm closing time, confessing he has no idea of what happened at the unit thereafter, but insisted that Chris Ekpeyong's statement of lack of problem in all the polling units of ward 10, including his unit 5, was not true.
When a question came up tasking him to testify on the action of the APC Chairman of Ini Chapter, Mr. Itoro Sunday, on the election day, Ekpenyong's witness agreed with the petitioner's counsel, S.I. Ameh, SAN, that he could not speak on the said person since he was not joined in the suit.
Another witness, Mr. Ekpe Akpan, from Usuk Ukwok in Ini local government area was said to have been serving the PDP as agent of polling unit 3 in ward 10. He claimed there was no election in his unit, but only to tell the tribunal that he left the polling unit at about 9.21am and would not know what happened there in his absence.
He expressed surprise when INEC card reader report at the tribunal shown to him by the petitioner's counsel confirmed that 96 voters were accredited by the machine at his polling unit.
Mr. Ekpe Akpan, who was physically nervous in the dock, said the INEC ad hoc staff at his unit, before his departure, were still ticking the voters register (Exhibit R190), after earlier agreeing with INEC counsel ( 3rd to 5th Respondents), Barr. Ifeoluwa Ojedirun , that his unit's register were not ticked.
©The Sensor Newspaper
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