Akpabio reveals who is behind his lost in 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom
The Senator, who
represented Akwa Ibom north-west district in the 8th National Assembly,
Godswill Akpabio, has said God will soon expose those who “fraudulently
orchestrated” his defeat during the 2019 general elections.
Akpabio stated this
at Ukana, Essien Udim local government area of the state, while empowering some
of his constituents.
The former Governor
of the state accused the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner of the state,
Mike Igini, of denying him of the mandate freely given to him.
He described Igini
as the “most compromised electoral officer in Nigeria and should not be allowed
to hold public office”.
“Please nobody
should have any headache, nobody should cry because there is no need. You know
your Senator cannot lose election because we were all there.
“But many of them
thought they can go and write whatever they like and even cancel what you won.
I have never in my life experienced a resident electoral commissioner like Mike
Igini and my message to him is that his hypocrisy will be exposed.
“There is no way
you can come into Akwa Ibom and commit that kind of electoral fraud you
committed then you go back to Channels Television and sit down and talk as if
you are a pope.
“Very soon the
world will know… All the materials we are recovering everyday will expose you.
“Just yesterday,
the police arrested people carrying materials from where they voted and were
trying to sneak into INEC. The other day, they arrested someone with card
readers. He was frantically calling and trying to say that they were used for
training three months after election so that they will continue to manipulate,”
Akpabio said.
Justice Abang: PDP reacts
as court rules on Akpabio’s claim on expulsion from party
The Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in Akwa Ibom State has described as shameful and
dishonorable Senator Godswill Akpabio’s claim that he never defected but moved
to the All Progressives Congress as a result of him being expelled from PDP at
the ward level.
Senator Godswill
Akpabio had told with evidence the Federal High Court in Abuja that his
expulsion from PDP was what compelled him to move to the APC in August 2018.
In his ruling, the
trial Judge, Justice Okon Abang on Friday said that the senator only “moved to
join APC out of frustration of being expelled by the PDP through a letter dated
August 2, 2018”.
The judge held that
having been expelled from PDP, Akpabio was at liberty to join another political
party of his choice and any attempt to declare his seat vacant as requested by
the plaintiff, Legal Defence and Assistant Project would be to punish him for
exercising his right to freedom of association under section 40 of the
Constitution.
The plaintiff had
anchored its suit on section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution which provides that
the seat of a legislator who defects from his or her party without any division
in the party before the end of the tenure for which the party sponsors the
lawmaker’s election shall be declared vacant.
Justice Abang held
that the provision of section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution was not applicable
to Akpabio, who “neither defected nor decamped” but only moved from the PDP
following his expulsion.
Irked by Senator
Akpabio’s submission, the PDP in the state said such claim was totally false
and shameful.
In a statement
signed by the publicity secretary, Ini Emembong and sent to journalists in Uyo,
the PDP argued that it was impossible for Senator Akpabio to have been expelled
by the party, without the approval of the State Executive Committee of the
party.
Ememobong
maintained that there was no record showing the existence of such a punitive
move undertaken against the senator by his ward or chapter executive.
He also alleged
that Senator Akpabio conspired with Ntiedo Usoro, the then Chapter Chairman of
Essien Udim to illegally write a letter of expulsion to him and backdate same,
adding that Ntiedo having completed his assignment, later defected and joined
Chief Akpabio in the APC.
The statement reads
in part, “The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has read
a news item flowing from the judgement of a Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja, presided over by Justice Abang wherein the trial judge held that Senator
Akpabio led evidence to show that he was expelled from the People’s Democratic
Party and therefore was justified in law in ‘moving’ to the APC.
“We state that
nothing can be farther from the truth than the transparent lie of expulsion
shamelessly spewed by Chief Akpabio. We make bold to state that at no time was
Chief Akpabio suspended or expelled from the party. Chief Akpabio had announced
to the world on August 8,2018 that he was defecting from the PDP to the APC in
pursuit of National interest and to stem the tide of defections at the National
Assembly. In fact, at different campaigns, he mocked the PDP as being empty since
his uncommon defection . At no time did he mention the issue of expulsion,
which has now become his creation as a lame defence to keep his seat. He
conspired with Ntiedo Usoro, the then Chapter Chairman of Essien Udim to
illegally write a letter of expulsion to him and back date same. The said
Ntiedo having completed his assignment, later defected and joined Chief Akpabio
in the APC.
“There is no way
that Senator Akpabio could have been expelled by the party, without the
concurrence of the State Executive Committee of the party. There is no record
showing the existence of such a punitive move undertaken against the senator by
his ward or chapter executive council. Expulsion is a process and not an event.
We know that the disgraced senator is running from his shadows and questioning
karma, as his conscience is putting him to remembrance of how he masterminded
the suspension and eventual expulsion of his predecessor, Obong Victor Attah
from the Party(though the act was reversed by the National Exco of the party).
His successor, Governor Udom Emmanuel and the incumbent party leadership under
Obong Paul Ekpo have decidedly made themselves unavailable for karma to use
against him.
“We warn Senator
Akpabio to desist forthwith from including the PDP in his serial lies. He is
history to us, for all we care and soon, will be history to his Senatorial
District- people who have sent the disgraced senator on compulsory political
retirement.
“A brave man should
prepare to face the natural consequences of his actions and not to engage in
perennial doublespeak, disgraceful pendulum motion and irreverent redefinition
of established terms.”
Gov. Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom
suspends another govt official
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has
suspended Dr Valentine Attah, Chairman, Local Government Service Commission,
from office with immediate effect.
The suspension was contained in a press
statement entitled: “Suspension from Office” dated May 15 and signed by the
Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, and made available to
newsmen in Uyo on Thursday.
Ekuwem said the suspension was sequel to the
chairman’s involvement in unauthorised recruitment of persons into the Unified
Local Government Service, NAN reports.
“The governor has approved the suspension of
Dr Valentine Attah, Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission.
“This is sequel to his involvement in an
unauthorised recruitment of persons into the unified local government service.
The suspension takes immediate effect pending the outcome of the state audit on
recruitment exercise.
“To this end, appointment of those who
benefits from the said recruitment are hereby declared null and void,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that
with barely two weeks to the end of the governor’s first term, on Wednesday he
also relieved the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Sufficiency, Dr Uduak
Udo-Inyang, of his appointment but no reason was stated.
Gov. Udom of Akwa Ibom bars his
appointees from press interviews
Gov.
Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has stopped his appointees from granting press
interviews.
Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem gave the
directive in a statement made available to newsmen in Uyo on Wednesday.
According to him, the directive was part of efforts to streamline and
ensure a coordinated approach to information management and dissemination in
the state.
“The Akwa Ibom State Government has directed that all government
functionaries, including Commissioners, Special Advisers, Members of Boards and
Commissions, Special Assistants and other Personal Aides of the Governor,
should henceforth desist from granting press interviews without the permission
of Gov. Mr Udom Emmanuel.
“The Commissioner for Information and Strategy as well as the Chief
Press Secretary to the Governor are exempted from this directive.
“They will continue to carry out their functions accordingly as the
spokespersons to the State Government and the Governor respectively,” Ekuwem
said.
He explained that the directive was with immediate effect.
Tribunal orders INEC to allow PDP inspect election materials in Akwa
Ibom
The
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Thursday
ordered INEC to allow the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legal team to inspect
election materials used during the March 9 Governorship Election.
The tribunal Chairman, Justice A. M. Yakubu, gave the order while
ruling in a Motion on Notice filed by the PDP legal team led by Mr Godwill
Umoh.
Yakubu ordered INEC to comply with the order of the court without
further delay, stressing that it was an offence for the commission to disobey
tribunal order, NAN reports.
Speaking to newsmen, the lead Counsel to Gov Udom Emmanuel and PDP,
Umoh said the party approached the tribunal through a motion on notice, to
order INEC to allow the party inspect election materials used during the
governorship election on March 9.
“Actually what we have done today basically, is to take the motion. It
shows the level of compliance not necessarily with the law but with the
society.
“What we did like I said, we could have gone ordinarily by written
application through the Resident Electoral Commissioner.
”We could have done that through Notice Exparte, without giving the
other side notice but because we needed to bring them, we always asked for fair
level playing ground as some people normally say.
“Above all legitimately, if we are armed with this order of the court,
it becomes much easier because if you look at the Law, if you make an
application, INEC is supposed to supply all the information within seven days and
if they don’t do that, it becomes criminal.
“We came to court to obtain the leave of the court to order INEC to
allow us inspect the materials used for the governorship election on March 9.
“INEC is supposed be an umpire like they have done, they conducted
election, so there is nothing to be afraid of providing all the information
required by parties,” Umoh said.
Umoh added that the inspection of the election materials would enable
the PDP show how they won in the just-concluded governorship election in Akwa
Ibom.
Also at tribunal today, the lead counsel to Mr Nsima Ekere, the APC
governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom on March 9, election, informed the tribunal
that INEC was frustrating the party from inspecting the election materials as
ordered by the tribunal since April 15.
Akwa Ibom Govt Set To Demolish Buhari's 2019 Campaign Office In The State
Barely three days after the campaign office of
President Muhammadu Buhari was opened in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, the
state government has marked the building housing the office for demolition,
triggering political tension in the state.
The four-storeyed edifice on Wellington Bassey Way,
not far from the Government House, is christened, “Hilltop Mansion” by the
National Committee of Buhari’s Support Groups, NCBSG, which vowed to win the
state in both the presidential and governorship polls.
Recall that Buhari had at NEC meeting of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, last Monday before heading to London announced his intention
to seek re-election in the 2019 presidential election, stating that he was
responding to the clamour by Nigerians to seek a second term.
Following the launch of the campaign office in Uyo
on Monday, Vanguard reports that the state government has been uncomfortable
with the proximity of the campaign office to the Government House which
informed the decision to pull it down with the allegation that the structure
does not have the necessary papers.
The report has it that the office building is the
only structure designated on the road for demolition by the Uyo Capital City
Development Agency, UCCDA, an agency of the state government.
The government was saying to be also planning to
revoke the building’s Certificate of Occupancy before proceeding on the
demolition.
A source was reported as saying, “The plan is first
to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy by the government before demolition. But
the question is why would the government condescend so low as to do that?
Recall that in 1999, 2003 and 2015, many politicians had their campaign offices
on the same Barrack Road and the heavens did not fall. Is it because they were
all PDP members and this is APC?”
The report stated that the state government had
approached the owner of the building to take over the premises, but the owner
was said to have told the state government that NCBSG had already acquired it
for use.
Speaking on the development, Chairman, Uyo City
Capital Development Agency, Enobong Uwah, told the newspaper that the building
was not the only one in Uyo capital city marked, urging owners of such
buildings to present their papers, or start the process of acquiring the
relevant papers for their buildings.
He said, “Does it mean that any building marked is
for demolition? The announcement has been on radio that anybody who does not
have the necessary papers should come and do their papers. It is not just that
building. It is an on-going exercise. We should not politicize everything.
“I asked my staff about the building and they said
that the building was marked early April. So, go to other buildings and they
are also marked. If you have papers, you come to the office and present them
and if you don’t have, you start the process to obtain the relevant papers.”
Akwa Ibom Church Collapse Left Many Dead, Gov. Udom Exonerate Akan Weeks
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has condemned the clean bill of
health given to Apostle Akan Weeks, General Overseer of Reigners Bible Church,
Uyo, by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State after a Commission of Inquiry
found the pastor culpable in the collapse
of his church building.
The governor had in a white paper released last week, exonerated the
cleric but upheld other recommendations that other persons found to have played
key roles in the shoddy job which led to the collapse of the church building be
prosecuted.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state said it stands with Akwa
Ibom people, especially the families of the dead and injured, to condemn the
governor for his lack of empathy and sense of justice.
The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Edet Bassey, in a statement
said: “By trying to shield Apostle Akan Weeks, the owner of the church, from
justice, Governor Emmanuel has violated the oath of office he took which
constrains him from allowing personal interest to influence his duties and
responsibilities to the people.
“Apostle Weeks was indicted in unambiguous terms for failing to obtain
requisite approval from government before embarking on the construction work,
tampering with the structure by removing essential components and refusal to
heed professional advice. Weeks is reported to have been obstinate and remained
resolute in defiance of the “Stop Work” notice issued to him by the Uyo Capital
City Development Authority, UCCDA.
“What is shocking is that notwithstanding the recommendation of the
commission of inquiry that Apostle Weeks be prosecuted for complicity in the
death and injury to innocent citizens, the state governor has objected to his
prosecution.”
Barely three days after the campaign office of
President Muhammadu Buhari was opened in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, the
state government has marked the building housing the office for demolition,
triggering political tension in the state.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has condemned the clean bill of
health given to Apostle Akan Weeks, General Overseer of Reigners Bible Church,
Uyo, by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State after a Commission of Inquiry
found the pastor culpable in the collapse
of his church building.