Gov. Udom Remains Governor, Court Orders Re-run in 18 LGAs As APC supporters resort to violence

#AkwaIbom Tribunal: Gov. Udom Remains Governor, Court Orders Re-run in 18 LGAs As APC supporters resort to violence

Tribunal Ruling is as follows:
1. The Tribunal rules that the petitioners were unable to demonstrate that card reader alone can be relied upon for accreditation throughout the state. The use of card reader cannot be used contrary to the express provision of the law as conferred on INEC.
2. The Tribunal rules that INEC press release cannot override section 41 of the Electoral Act on accreditation. The card reader was not contemplated by section 49 of the Act on accreditation.
3. The Tribunal holds that it was satisfied that election held in all the polling units in the state. It further holds that the election substantially complied with the provisions of the law and therefore resolves that the 1st respondent scored the highest number of valid votes cast.
4. The Tribunal holds that presumption of regularity is in favour of INEC. The experts called by Obong Umana were not experts as they denied being so, according to the Tribunal. Therefore, they could not express opinion as ordinary witnesses as the Evidence Act does not allow such. By the Evidence Act, only expert opinions are admissible. Witness PW49's evidence was not admitted as he was not considered an expert and hence could not demonstrate how he his finding came about.
5. The Tribunal holds that all the experts’ evidence failed as none of them qualified as experts.
6. The Tribunal holds that the petitioners should have tendered the ballot papers scanned.That assuming it relies on the ballot papers scanned and alleged to have been invalid, the 1st respondent would have won with a wide margin of votes.
7. The Tribunal holds that right to vote is a constitutionally guaranteed right and nobody should be disenfranchised. It says there was disenfranchisement of voters in some PUs in the state and, sequel to this, election in Uyo LGA and in Etinan, Nsit Ubium, Ibiono, Uruan, Ibesikpo, Nsit Atai, Eket, Onna, Ibeno, Oron, Udung Uko, Oruk Anam, Etim Ekpo, Ikono, and Ini LGAs.

The Court therefore orders a rerun in those 18 local government areas of Akwa Ibom state.  However, it insists that Udom remains Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

Paul Bassey
And Uduak Umo

In essence, therefore the Tribunal holds that Governor  Udom Emmanuel is still the Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Nullifies elections in  SOME POLLING UNITS in 18 LGAs of the State.

In other news, irate APC supporters were caught on video attempting to start an unrest in the city of Uyo. As the event is only developing, Residents are advised to stay indoors and avoid the Ibom plaza area of the city and any areas where people are gathered to discuss politics.

See video at www.Ibommobile.com

A'IBOM APC ELECTORAL AGENTS FAILED TO TESTIFY AT TRIBUNAL ... PETITIONER LIED ABOUT AKTC BUSES OPERATED BY HIS KINSMAN

By Mfonobong Ukpong


Despite repeatedly asserting that elections were not conducted in any of over 2988 polling units during the last general elections in Akwa Ibom State, the petitioner, Mr Umana Umana of the All Progressives Congress stunned the Governorship Elections Petition tribunal when he failed to produce any of his party’s polling unit agent as a witness.

The All Progressives Congress gubernatorial flop had claimed that the party had a comprehensive list of accredited agents in all the polling units, wards and in the 31 local government areas as agents and that all the units, wards and local government agents promptly reported to their duty posts to perform their assignments.

From the submission by the petitioner, no fewer than 2,988 polling unit agents, 329 ward agents and 31 local government collation agents were accredited by the APC for the governorship election and all of them witnessed the so-called irregularities by the 1st,2nd and 3rd respondents in the elections on April 11, 2015.

But in what appears to beat the utmost imagination of the Justice Abubakar Umar Sadiq-chaired tribunal, none of the agents was deemed worthy by the petitioner of taking to the witness box to give a firsthand account of the election sharp practice.

Most observers at the tribunal in their separate opinions felt that APC agents who observed the ‘irregularities’ at their respective units and centres throughout the state, should have been brought to the court as witnesses to confirm the allegations of anomalies in the electoral processes.

Another resort to falsehood by Mr Umana Umana in his petition statement was the allegation that the state government purchased 800 buses and kept at government house until the election period when the buses where branded as Akwa Ibom Transport Corporation buses and dispatched for use in all parts of the state for electoral fraud.

However Umana and his team failed to provide a single photograph of the said 800 buses and could not bring out any evidence that such buses existed and that any such bus was used for electoral offences. 

However when Elder Godwin Ntukude, the commissioner for Transport was docked as a witness for the 1st respondent to render account on the alleged buses, Ntukude revealed that Umana in his characteristics, had deceived the world, adding that AKTC which correctly means Akwa Ibom Transport Company had since been privatised and was operated independently by a private transporter.

“My Lord, the transport firm is currently operated by Mr Umana Umana’s kinsman Elder Nsikak Johnny, who also hails from Nsit Ubium like the petitioner.’”

Ntukude also clarified that no such buses where purchased by the state government for the Akwa Ibom Transport Company fleet, adding that the transport firm was never directly or indirectly involved in transporting of election materials on the elections day.

As the day of judgement in the governorship petitions tribunal draws nearer, not a few people believe that the Umana – led APC are already starring failure in the face.