Of the 26 members in Akwa Ibom House State of Assembly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has now got one member.
This follows the declaration of Mr Nse Ntuen of Essien Udim state constituency the winner by the House of Assembly Elections Tribunal in Uyo, on Sunday.
As it stands, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has garnered an overwhelming 25 members in the house leaving one to APC as minority.
Delivering judgment in the petition filed against the election victory of Ntuen by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Esse Umoh, Justice Akanbi ordered the INEC to issue the APC candidate Certificate of Return, having been declared and returned by the returning officer.
Ntuen who led a faction of the Assembly late last year as speaker following their sack by the leadership of the Assembly for defecting to APC, was refused certificate of return by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) though he was allegedly declared the winner by the Returning Officer after the election.
Reacting to the ruling, he thanked the leadership of his party for standing by him throughout the needless challenge, describing the legal triumph as “victory of light over darkness”.
“I thank the living God, the APC family, our political leaders and particularly, my mentor and leader, the Hon Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and wife among numerous others.The judgment is simply the victory of light over darkness,” he declared.
However, other petitions filed by other APC House of Assembly candidates suffered defeat as the tribunal confirmed the elections of PDP house members for Abak, Itu and Etim Ekpo state constituencies and made Ntuen the lone minority member of the house.
