The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Akwa Ibom State is said to be set for re-run in Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District.
The district made up of 10 local government areas has Essien Udim, one of the local government areas, which is the hotbed for the re-run within 90 days as ordered by Appeal Court in Calabar.
Senator Godswill Akpabio, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, hails from Essien Udim while his opponent, Senator Christopher Ekpenyong of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, comes from Obot Akara.
INEC had after February 23 National Assembly Elections declared that the PDP standard bearer, Ekpenyong scored 114,973 votes after winning in nine local government areas, while Akpabio scored 76,917 votes.
However, Akpabio will be going into the rerun with a deficit of 38,056 needed to overturn Ekpenyong’s victory.
Akwa Ibom INEC Public Affairs Officer, Don Etukudoh, in an interview with Straightnews on Monday declared that Essien Udim local government area recorded 105,555 votes during the last voters’ registration exercise.
According to him, Akpabio and Ekpenyong will chase 95,987 votes during the re-run, saying “This number of people actually collected their Permanent Voters Cards.”
He confirmed that INEC would carry out fresh accreditation of voters during the re-run, barring diverse opinions that the commission would rely on the earlier figure during the last election.
Political analysts believe that if the persons with PVCs in Essien Udim are properly mobilised for the re-run, APC may upturn the 38,056 votes’ deficit standing against Akpabio.
They equally dismiss as untrue the fact that Akpabio could not upturn the result, arguing that a winner will emerge by simple majority not by two-thirds permutation.
Earlier, Etukudoh had in a press release issued said: “The court re-affirmed as valid and preserved the elections as declared by the commission in nine of the 10 LGAs that make up Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District.
“It, however, ordered a rerun of the senatorial election within 90 days in Essien Udim LGA only, where the commission had decried the massive rigging and manipulations that culminated in the dubious award of 61,329 votes to Senator Akpabio in the LGA, intended to upturn the results of the other nine LGAs.
“This was when the accreditation figure from the Smart Card Readers (SCRs), confirmed by ticks on the Voter Register for the entire Essien Udim stood at just 19,455.
“The Commission rejected this travesty and maintained its position despite pressure, blackmail and threats to lives of lNEC officials.
“The Court also ordered fresh elections in the same Essien Udim LGA in respect of the House of Representatives seat while upholding elections in Ikot Ekpene and Obot Akara, the other two LGAs that constitute the Federal Constituency”.
However, Nkereuwem Nyongekere, APC Publicity Secretary, said that the ruling showed that “truth was hurriedly murdered and buried by the tribunal in Akwa Ibom.”
He added: “The Court of Appeal sitting at Calabar in Cross River State in its ruling has nullified the election of Dr. Christopher Ekpenyong, who was wrongly declared the winner of the National Assembly election in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District on February 23, 2019.
“The ruling in its entirety is a testament that will open up the eye of the world to the misappropriation of justice meted out to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State by the National Election Tribunal at Uyo in collusion with unprogressive forces in the PDP and INEC in Akwa Ibom State.”
