The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding the dismissal of the commission’s Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mike Igini, within 48 hours. The petition, signed by APC Zonal Organising Secretary, South-South, Blessing Agbomhere, was addressed to the chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. Igini however dismissed all the allegations levied against him, insisting that his records do not suggest anything they have said.

The party accused Igini of “incessant acts of biasness, injustice, sabotage and malevolence meted out on the APC in Akwa Ibom state.” He said Mike Igini had since his deployment sabotaged and worked obviously against the APC in the state even when he is not supposed to be partisan, by his position and membership of INEC. He told the INEC chairman that a violation of the provision of Section 26 of the Electoral Act of 2022 is not without its consequences and the same is rightly captured in Section 120 of the Act.

“From the foregoing facts we have just made available to you, Mr Chairman, there will be no gainsaying that  Mike Igini, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa Ibom State, has been compromised, shown partisanship and regrettably so, abused his office as an INEC official hence we make the following prayers to you; “That, Mike Igini is not fit and proper to remain as the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner of the State. This is because a free and fair election begins with a free and fair process. Hence Igini has compromised, he cannot, therefore, conduct or supervise any election in the state.

“Finally, Mr Chairman, we will be more than willing to approach the Code of Conduct Tribunal against  Mike Igini and also approach the Federal High Court to obtain an Order of Mandamus to compel the Commission in any event where our prayers and demands are not met within the time given.

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“In 2019, Mr. Mike Igini acted in gross violation of the Electoral Act by sabotaging the Senatorial Elections of His Excellency, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio. He did this, by maliciously supervising the cancellation of the votes of the Distinguished Senator all in his bid to ensure his loss of the election.

“He further went ahead, to ensure that the results of the election were mutilated and not announced at the INEC headquarters in Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District which is at variance with the provision of Section 25(2)(e) of the Electoral Act of 2022.

“After the landslide victory of Hon. Nse Ntuen, who emerged as the winner of the Essien Udim State Assembly Elections, Mr. Mike Igini, in his usual act of dislike for our party in the state blatantly refused to issue a certificate of return to him as INEC REC of the state. We resorted to seeking legal redress and the court, haven has seen the merits of our claims, granted us an order mandating INEC to issue a certificate of return to Hon. Nse Ntuen. It will interest and surprise you to know that this order of court was rudely disobeyed.

“As I send this petition to you, Mr. Igini who is the reason for all the crisis in the APC in the state is also the reason why the commission is yet to validate the candidacy of His Excellency, Sen. Godswill Akpabio and our gubernatorial candidate, Akanimo Udofia. This is a result of his attempts to sabotage them and fight tooth and nail to ensure that he frustrates their candidacy, all in his bid to favour the PDP and Governor Udom Emmanuel.

“Carefully reading through the above section, you will agree with me, Mr Chairman that Mike Igini is in conspicuous violation and breach of every wording of this provision as he has accepted gratification and performed his duty partially thereby negating his oath of loyalty and neutrality to INEC and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Reacting to the allegations in a telephone interview, Igini dismissed all the allegations. “My records do not suggest anything they have said. Dishonest people are all over the place walking like colossus because we are in a country where our value pyramid is upside down. My only response is my record. All the people who are talking now were all members of the PDP. In respect of Akwa Ibom, the former senator who is behind all these, all the period Buhari contested election, he never got 10 per cent in this state. It was only when Mike Igini came the people’s votes began to count. Then they said I was brought here to dislodge the PDP.”

He maintained that the crisis in APC was self-inflicted and that the party has been fractionalised in the state.  “They have their internal problems. They have three factions. That is the foundational problem and not Mike Igini. You can buy some people all of the time but you cannot buy all the people all of the time.”