PDP supporters and others believe Governor Umo Eno is betraying them following the controversial APC victory in the October 5 Akwa Ibom polls, despite mixed results, for Sen. Godswill Akpabio’s Local Government (LG).
In Akwa Ibom state’s October 5 Local Government (LG) elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) unexpectedly won 30 of the 31 chairmanship posts up for grabs. However, disgruntled elements of the state ruling party are furious about the result.
At the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Uyo, majority party supporters wore dejected expressions as Governor Umo Eno swore in the victors of the chairmanships to assume control of their respective councils. The governor himself acknowledged that “people are angry.”
The unexpected discussion that lingered after one of two expected results of the elections that produced the new helmsmen in the Akwa Ibom LGs was the source of PDP’s ire.
In a contentious drama, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the lone chairmanship seat that the PDP lost, for Essien Udim LG. Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Senate, has an LGA named Essiem Udim.
As the results of the vote-counting process began to come in on Saturday night, University of Uyo professor Inyang Atting, who had declared himself to be the designated Returning Officer (RO) for the Essien Udim chairmanship polls, said that PDP candidate Enobong Patrick Friday had been declared the winner. Atting made her declaration in a video that quickly gained popularity.
Ntiedo Usoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was listed for Essien Udim by Sunday when Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, Chairman, Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC), delivered Certificates of Return to the chairmen elect.
Stakeholders in the PDP claimed a stolen mandate. They charged that the governor had betrayed the party’s interests at large in order to further his lucrative political connection with the Senate President. Stakeholders claimed that the victory was revoked and given to a different candidate in order to spare Akpabio from shame.
Foreseeable result
The PDP was predicted to win handily in Akwa Ibom, as is customary for the ruling party to win all or the majority of the seats, because the other 11 political parties who were permitted to run had never organized before the votes.
As the votes were about to close, APC member and ardent observer of Akwa Ibom politics, Etim Etim, cautioned members not to waste their time, money, or energy running for council positions since the PDP would unavoidably win.
“The Akwa Ibom Pradesh Congress Committee (APC) lacks the strength, division, morale, drive, and hope to win any elections.”
A party chieftain acknowledged that the APC does not exist in Akwa Ibom despite Akpabio’s boast that “nobody can dismiss the APC in this state” in response to these restrictions. We only show up when the Senate President comes to town in a plane full of arrogance. We are not situated on the ground.
Because of the PDP’s lead, there was also widespread speculation that Governor Eno would reward Sen. Akpabio by giving the APC an unfair victory in the race for Essien Udim’s local government chairmanship.
When faced with this dread, the delusional governor said to the PDP supporters, “I have a great deal of respect for the Senate President and I will always have it.” That doesn’t imply that when it comes to party matters, we don’t disagree.
“I work for my party, the PDP, and we are now having elections. We shall prevail in our battle. I’ve been accused of my body language by others. You didn’t understand me at all. Body language is absent. I am employed by the PDP, and we have proven to the public that we are reliable.
The anticipated occurred.
Enobong Patrick, the PDP’s nominee for chairperson, was announced by Prof. Inyang Ating, the Returning Officer (RO) for Essien Udim LG, on Friday. He was purportedly elected on Saturday night following the conclusion of the vote tallying process in the region.
The University of Uyo professor Atting claims, “I certify that I was the RO for the election held on October 5, 2024.” the election was subject to contests.
“The APC’s Hon. Ntiedo Usoro received 686 votes overall. PDP engineer Enobong Patrick Friday received 55612 votes overall.
Enobong Patrick Friday of the PDP is hereby proclaimed elected after meeting all legal requirements and receiving the majority of votes.
“That Engineer Enobong Patrick Friday received over 25% of the vote in each of the 13 Essien Udim Wards in addition to receiving the majority of the votes.” As the Returning Officer, I thus proclaim and sign this document.
As he presented Certificates of Return on Sunday night, Elder Ikoiwak, Chairman of AKISIEC, announced the roll call of winners. Ntiedo Usoro of the APC was noted as elected and accepted for Essien Udim LG.
Prof. Atting is disowned by AKISIEC Chairman, who suspends EO
The head of AKISIEC rejected the results of Prof. Atting’s RO and the commission’s own Electoral Office (EO) for the region after the new LG was sworn in on Monday.
In response, Ikoiwak said, “We did not appoint Professor Ating.” Why was the Returning Officer (RO) for Essien Udim the only one to read the results, while the ROs for the other LGAs did not?
He said that rather than Prof. Atting, AKISIEC designated Prof. Uduak Okon of the Medical Sciences Department of the same University of Uyo as the RO for the region.
He added that Usoro of the APC received 51,751 votes to be declared the winner, while Friday of the PDP received 22,799 votes. But EO, who presumably approved Prof. Atting’s results confirming PDP’s triumph, did not sign this outcome. An Assistant RO gave it back.
The EO showed up at the headquarters on Sunday afternoon with results, but the commission had already compiled results from certified officers in the area’s wards and units based on the way the election was conducted, Ikoiwak said.
Election evidence of APC victory was free and fair. — Governor
Governor Eno, who swore at the 31 elected chairmen, declared that the APC’s one-seat victory proved that “our process was fair.” No one could argue that it wasn’t free. It made sense and was fair. It wasn’t a winner takes all situation.
“Losing one LGA in an election does not indicate that our party, the PDP, has failed, according to its supporters. It just means that we made democracy possible. I understand that we are upset, but this is the wonder of democracy.
Ibomites in Akwa React
Prof. Atting, the disowned RO, and the suspended EO of AKISIEC have vanished, making it unable to contact them to discuss the initial outcomes that awarded the PDP’s Essien Udim chairmanship.
In addition to being silent, the PDP’s purportedly short-changed candidate for the chairmanship of Essien Udim has congratulated his APC rival.
But according to a University of Uyo professor who works with Atting, Vanguard asked, “What would the media really want to ask Prof. Inyang Ating under the circumstance? He won’t want to talk to the press about that.
“He completed his task and delivered the outcome as shown in the now-viral video. AKISIEC eventually announced the reverse for reasons you may already be aware of. Prof. Atting’s sole opportunity to speak will be in court, if it comes to that.
“Governor Umo Eno for allowing the APC candidate to win Essien Udim LG, Sen Akpabio’s LGA,” expressed gratitude from Etim Etim.
We all know that council elections are never free and fair nationwide, and that the Government House is typically where the results of elections are announced, according to Etim.
“I have observed that the APC in Akwa Ibom is far too feeble, divided, disheartened, and hopeless to prevail in any election. I have been validated.
“Governor Eno has saved the Senate President great political embarrassment, solidified friendly relations between the two leaders, and formally signaled the nature of the game that would be played in 2027 by permitting the APC to win in Akpabio’s backyard.”
“The governor and the Senate President are forming a political alliance that will influence 2027 politics.” Akpabio owes a great deal to the Akwa Ibom people in general and Umo Eno in particular. He needs to help the governor deliver “democracy dividends” to our people from Abuja.
“Governor Eno has taken his suspicious romance with Akpabio and the APC too far,” a PDP party chieftain told Vanguard.
He ought to have delivered his own LG to Tinubu, Akpabio, and the APC instead of Essien Udim if he needed to trade horses with them. On this topic, the final has not been heard.
In order to become governor, his predecessor and patron, Emmanuel Udom, created enemies, including the Senate President. The results of this vote show that he has deceived Udom.
It took place during my time, Akpabio
For Akpabio, the poll’s results were typical because they occurred during his tenure as governor, which ended in 2015.
“I managed around two elections while serving as the governor of Akwa Ibom. On one instance, I remember learning there was unrest surrounding the LG elections when I returned to the state by plane. The results had been disputed by the opposition.
Gloria Ukpong, the Chairperson of AKISIEC, then gave me the assurance that the stakeholders would accept the outcome. I advised her to run for the opposition, and the ANPP took first place in Ini LG and garnered additional councilorship seats,” he recalled.
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