ElectionTribunal Orders Fresh Governorship Election In Akwa Ibom

An uneasy calm enveloped the residents of Uyo yesterday,  October 21, following the final verdict which was passed concerning the petition against the Akwa Ibom state governor, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, at the state governorship election tribunal.
                                                    
The tribunal ordered for a rerun of the governorship election in the state, Vanguard reports.

The Justice Sadiq Umar-led tribunal sitting in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct re-run election in 18 local government areas of the state. There are 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom.

Giving its verdict on Wednesday, the Tribunal said it was satisfied that there were discrepancies during the governorship election held on April 11.

The Tribunal further asked the INEC to conduct the re-run elections.

Although, the tribunal commenced sitting in Uyo, it had to be moved to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) owing to the unfavourable security atmosphere in the state capital.

Udom had been declared by the INEC as the winner in an election alleged to be the most controversial in the history of elections in the country.

It was reported that the election was allegedly marred with violence, killings, harassment of voters, hijacking of election materials and unprecedented rigging which made international and local observers to pass a unanimous verdict that it was a sham and recommended a complete cancellation of the exercise.

The Nation had reported that the All Progressives Congress which is the main opposition in the state also came out strongly to decry the conduct of the exercise.

The APC said there was no election in the state as it accused the former governor Godswill Obot Akpabio who is now a minority leader at the Senate, of allegedly deploying state machinery to rig the election and overturn the popular wish of the people.

As a result of this, the APC and its candidate, Umana Okon Umana, had to challenge the victory at the tribunal seeking a cancellation of the purported election.

However, during the processes of the proceedings, there had been several witnesses summoned to the tribunal to testify.

Most of them had given shocking revelations as regards the election conducts.

The witnesses recounted before the tribunal how results were announced for many polling units in various local government areas despite the fact that no election took place in such units.

Meanwhile, the governorship election petition tribunal in Yobe state on Wednesday, October 21, upheld the election of Governor Ibrahim Geidam.

Geidam who contested a re-election as governor of the state on the platform of the APC was declared winner after supposedly polling more votes to defeat Adamu Maina Waziri of the PDP.