Ime Akpan
The resident electoral commissioner for Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Mike Igini, has got his work cut out to declare the representative of Ikot Ekpene senatorial district and former senate minority leader, Obong Godswill Akpabio of the All Progressives Congress (APC) or his challenger and former deputy governor of the state, Mr. Christopher Ekpenyong of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the senatorial election held last Saturday.
Results so far released by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that Ekpenyong won in eight of the 10 local government areas.
In Etim Ekpo the PDP polled PDP – 6,603 votes; APC, 2,671; in Abak, PDP, 10,926; APC, 9,787 and in Ika, PDP got 9,257 while APC had 4,152.
In Ukanafun, PDP had25, 952 votes and APC, 14, 452 while Oruk Anam, PDP, got 25,123 and APC 10,534 votes.
PDP polled 13,184 votes while the APC had 6,229 votes in Obot Akara.
In Ikono, it was 7,951 votes for the PDP and 3,083 for the APC while in Ini, APC polled 5,897 votes, while PDP polled 13, 302.
Results yet to be announced are those from Akpabio’s Essien Udim local government and the neigbouring Ikot Ekpene.
“So far, Senator Godswill Akpabio has lost to the PDP candidate in Ukanafun, Oruk Anam, Abak, Etim Ekpo, Obot Akara, Ika, Ini and Ikono. Results from Ikot Ekpene and Essien Udim were still being expected”, one of our sources said.
“The INEC REC in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, is under significant pressure to allow police and security agencies to help APC rig the senatorial election in the North West senatorial district where Senator Akpabio currently represents.
“Several INEC officials and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who served as ad hoc staff in the local government areas there have been arrested, and the resident electoral commission is unsure of who is protecting the ballots in multiple locations there.
“The resident electoral commissioner has not been allowed to speak to his staff who have been arrested. At all 10 local government areas, there is major security presence, especially outside the local government secretariat and INEC offices where ballot materials are believed to be held at the moment.
“Those INEC presiding officers, supervisory presiding officers and other officials including the ad hoc staff that are refusing to allow anyone to enter the premises where ballots are kept are fighting for their lives.
“Based on polling unit and ward level data we have seen so far and reports from PDP party agents and officials on the LGA level vote count, Akpabio appeared to be down close to 50,000 votes across his senatorial district.
“It is suspected that the police and security agents are providing cover so that the ballots can be sufficiently manipulated to make up the difference by the time they make it to the Senate-level collation in Ikot Ekpene,” said a source.
Meanwhile, Igini said no winner had been declared in the senatorial district.
Speaking at the resumption of collation of results for the presidential and national assembly elections in Uyo on Monday, Igini said: “Nobody has declared election result in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.”
Meanwhile, the incumbent senator representing Akwa Ibom North East, Mr. Bassey Albert Akpan, popularly called OBA of the PDP emerged the winner of the senatorial race in that zone.
Prof. Idara Akpabio, who declared Akpan as the winner at INEC office in Uyo said he the PDP senator polled a total of 147,731 votes to beat his opponent Mr. Bassey Etim of the APC, who scored 60,930.
INEC also declared Mr. Patrick Ifon, House of Representatives candidate of the PDP, winner of the Eket federal constituency election.
Announcing the results at Eket senatorial district collation centre on Monday, the returning officer, Prof. Bassey Antia of the University of Uyo, said Ifon polled 61,580 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr. Akpabio Kufre of the APC who scored 11,263 votes.
Eket federal constituency is made up of Eket, Ibeno, Onna and Esit Eket local government areas.
Ifon who addressed his supporters thereafter thanked the constituents for being steadfast in their quest to ensure the people’s will prevailed.
“This is a collective victory in the face of threatening assertions by the opposition.
“It is a victory attributed to God, the people and a proof that Akwa Ibom is PDP,” he said.
In Eket Senatorial district, the returning officer, Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo of the University of Uyo announced Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi of the PDP as winner of the election.
She polled i22, 412 votes while the incumbent senator, Mr. Nelson Effiong of APC got 44,053 votes.
