The Akwa Ibom State All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it will appeal the victory of Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio at the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal.
Tribunal Chairman, Justice Goddy Anunihu, upheld the election of the former governor as the senator representing Akwa Ibom Northwest.
But APC described the verdict as a miscarriage of justice.
Akwa Ibom State APC Chairman Amadu Attai told reporters in Abuja that it was funny that Justice Anunihu held that it was a mere mistake that Akpabio contested election in one senatorial district and won in another.
The APC chairman said the judge’s action raised a serious question about the integrity of the Judiciary.
He wondered how 205,519 accredited voters could have produced 444,505 votes for Akpabio and why the tribunal regarded such glaring over-voting as an error that was expunge from the tribunal’s record after admitting the result of the card reader as an exhibit during the trial.
Attai said: “The APC in Akwa Ibom State observes with horror the wholesale miscarriage of justice in the outcomes of the various petitions filed by the party and its candidates at the National and State Assembly Election Petitions tribunals.
“Nothing drives this point more forcefully home than the controversial decision of the Justice Anunihu-led panel, which dismissed the petition of the APC candidate for the Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District, Chief Inibehe Okori, on the grounds that Mr. Akpabio’s candidacy in Akwa Ibom Northeast Senatorial District, rather than Akwa Ibom Northwest – where the APC candidate contested – was a ‘mistake’ and that the panel’s admission of the card reader database analysis evidencing the fraudulent casting of 444,505 votes by only 205,519 accredited voters was ‘done in error’ and had to be expunged from the tribunal record in deciding the case.”
The APC chairman described this year’s elections in Akwa Ibom State, which national and international observers called a set of aberration, as alien to civilisation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is lining up several functionaries of the Akwa Ibom State government for arrest after interrogating for the second day running yesterday, the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over alleged mismanagement of N108.1billion while in office.
Also expected to be picked up for questioning by the anti-corruption agency are officials of banks allegedly used for illegal deals by Akpabio.
The former governor was first questioned on Friday but was released on an administrative bail at about 9pm.
He returned yesterday to the anti-graft agency for further questioning.
There were indications that some officials of Akwa Ibom State Government and a few banks might be quizzed too.
Akpabio arrived EFCC at about 11.45am yesterday and he was still there as at about 7 pm.
It was gathered that the ex-governor was accompanied by his lawyer, Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN), a publisher, Mr. Wole Arisekola and a friend, Mr. Segun Odubela.
Akpabio’s associates claimed he left EFCC at about 3.30pm.
A source in EFCC said: “Akpabio came back for the continuation of interaction with EFCC team on the allegations against him. We did not detain him on Friday in line with our respect for his fundamental rights.
“Having been served with a copy of the petition, he spent about four hours responding to the allegations in writing. He wrote his statement under caution.
“We asked him a few questions on some grey areas in his statement before he left. The investigation of the case is ongoing.”
Responding to a question, the EFCC top official said: “We are going to interrogate some officials of Akwa Ibom State Government and a few banks.
“Some of these officials were named in the petition by a lawyer-activist, Mr. Leo Ekpenyong.”
One of those who accompanied Akpabio to EFCC, Mr. Wole Arisekola, said that the ex-governor “only went there to write a statement on Saturday.”
He said: “There was a petition against him and as a man of honour he went to EFCC to respond to the allegations. He was not arrested as being insinuated.
“We hope some former governors, who have petitions against them, will also be courageous enough to defend their actions in office.”
Ekpenyong had in his petition alleged that Akpabio mismanaged the state funds.
He said: “Between January –December 2014, it is on record that the trio of Godswill Akpabio and two others made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with account number: 1010375881 amounting to N22.1 billion.
“It is worthy of note that reasons for such ungodly cash withdrawals against financial regulations and due process laws range between sundry use and unjustifiable expenditures by Godswill Akpabio and his numerous surrogates and proxies.
“For example, a whopping N18 billion was withdrawn fraudulently from the state FAAC account with the United Bank for Africa in tranches of N10 million and above by Mr. Isobara in a surreptitious manner to conceal their dishonest intention.”
“The cumulative aggregate of these monies stolen by Godswill Akpabio from the coffers of government as pocket money is the annual budget of some states in Nigeria put together.”
With teasers running in traditional and social media days before its launch in September 23, many were oblivious of what Dakkada was all about. Akwa Ibom State Governor Emmanuel Udom, the architect of the new campaign, says it is a communication strategy that will spur his people to “Rise Up” and achieve greatness, ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI writes.
It is one of the most compelling change communications strategies by any state in recent times. Marking the 28th anniversary of its creation, Akwa Ibom State appears to have found a new voice for its people and it is inspiring new hope. For a state whose citizens are stereotyped as ‘house-helps’, or at best ‘great cooks’, the campaign initiated by Governor Emmanuel Udom and tagged Dakkada meaning ‘Rise Up’, is expected to change the narrative for the state and its people.
In one of the Dakkada social media campaigns, monitored by The Nation via YouTube, Udom affirms the new strategic direction and attitudinal change among Akwa Ibomites across socio-economic strata. Titled: ‘Dàkkádà – Rise to the Faith of Greatness,’ the 1:03 seconds ad reveals a sky reflecting nightfall. Then came the governor, Udom. Decked in a typical Southsouth traditional suit and cap, he calls on the citizens: “Akwa Ibomites, rise to the faith of greatness.” To enhance recall of the call to action, he says again, “Rise to the faith of greatness that with God all things are possible.”
The next scenes show young people, technicians at work, fishermen casting a net from the canoe, professionals in the office environment working with zeal, the elders drinking palm wine, with the governor’s voice over saying: “Rise to the faith that as people, we can move beyond biases, ethnicity, religion and gender.”
As his voice ran throughout the commercial, charging the citizens, he says: “Rise to togetherness, rise to chart a new course for us, our children and a generation of Akwa Ibomites unborn, hold fast the confession of hope, without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” Displaying various actualities to communicate every line of the message, Udom showed passion about the rebirth of his people. The commercial, one of many produced, set the emotion, motivational tone with a strong leaning to the Bible.
Also, some of the print ad copies monitored by The Nation explore endorsement of the campaign by citizens of the state who are doing great exploits in every sphere of life, adopted as models for the target of the campaign.
The use of a palm in the entire communication materials symbolises the map of the state. But beyond the sloganeering, Udom while unveiling the campaign during the 28th anniversary of the state on September 23, said: “If we were to situate this moment in the context of the Bible, it would be that we have crossed River Jordan. Behind us is the wilderness and before us is the Promised Land. We can look back and remember our exodus from Cross River State, when God granted our wish 28 years ago, with the creation of this state that is appropriately named after Him. We can remember the years we toiled in the wilderness as house helps and servants in the nooks and crannies of our nation. Yes, we can still remember the days we wallowed in under-development and scorn as we struggled to find our feet and catch up with the other states in our country,” he said.
The Dakkada creed
He said the power behind the campaign is for people to change their mindset, despite militating factors.
“But the greatest development is in the mind. Let every Akwa Ibom son and daughter know that no matter the circumstances they find themselves, they can rise and shine like a million stars. Let us rise to illuminate our world with our God-given talents and potentials. It is a product of the mind. If you can dream it, you can make it. But the demand of today, which has brought us together to launch this Dakkada campaign, is that we must rise up as a people, take the ark of faith and go around the walls so that they will tumble down like the walls of Jericho. That is the power behind the Dakkada campaign,” he affirmed.
After the campaign launch, many are supporting the new journey, showing optimism in various write ups and sharing them online. One of such is Ezekiel Nya-Etok, the chairman, Social Advocacy Group, and a former governorship aspirant.
He said: “On the 23rd of September, the state governor launched the Dakkada campaign. For me, it is about the most progressive action that any governor has so far taken. It is a campaign or crusade that I had wished was national.
“Dakkada is an Ibibio word that simply means ARISE! On the surface, one might be too carried away by the challenges of the moment, but upon closer reflection, it is the call to the inner man to look beyond the challenges of the moment. It is the inspiration to call on the deep, to reach down to the inner strength, to reflect and refocus, to see beyond the physical, the ordinary, and the mundane. It is the X-Factor the defines the super- and the extra- in the natural and the ordinary.
“It is the last strength that makes the difference between giving up, and crossing the finish line. It makes the man that was down to rise and the man that contemplated giving up to change his mind, and the man of excuses, to alter his confession. It is the stuff from which achievers are made, who will not give in to the challenges of the moment, but forge a new vision, a new paradigm, a new perspective, and a new motivation,” he said.
Also, Mr. Ufot Udeme, Group Managing Director of SO & U Group, a marketing communication outfit, said: “The issue also tells us that Akwa-Ibom also parades distinguish personalities who have contributed their to the growth and development of Nigeria. When we look back at people, such as the late Dr. Clement Nyong Isong, who was a banker, politician, governor of Cross River State (1979–1983) and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between 1967 and 1975, he happened to be one of the most successful CBN governors in history. He successfully managed the country’s finances throughout the civil war.
“We didn’t borrow any money from any foreign institutions. We look at people such as Sir Egbert Udo Udoma, a lawyer and justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court. He was Chief Justice of Uganda from 1963 to 1969. He spent 13 years as a judge on the Supreme Court of Nigeria and was chairman of the Constituent Assembly from 1977 to 1978. We have so many others. So, they came to the conclusion that in fact our young people do not have fact to understanding our history as a people; and even the right values had not been what it should be,” he said.
While the campaign explores faces of successful indigenes of the state in various communication materials, Udom, however, said it’s is the time to obey the Biblical injunction and wake up the mighty men and beat the pruning hooks into spears. “Now is the time to let our nation see our ingenuity. Now is the time for creativity and innovation in our land to manifest. Now is the time to wake up the mighty men and women so that our nation will know that we are a great people and a blessed generation,” he said.
Meanwhile, with the campaign, Udom believes that having a slogan is not enough to change people’s mindset. He said it must be backed by commitment of government to state development and industrialisation.
“On May 29, 2015, you graciously extended to me the mandate to be your governor. In the execution of this sacred trust as your governor and in observance of the oath I took before our God and our good people, we have spared no efforts in keeping faith with that covenant. During my electioneering campaign, I had laid out a bold plan in my five-point agenda of wealth creation, economic and political inclusion, poverty alleviation, infrastruc-tural consolidation and expansion and job creation. So far, we have kept our eyes on the ball, and this is evident through the numerous projects undertaken by this administration. We have so far undertaken the construction of 137 kilometers of road with 10 bridges spanning all the three Senatorial Districts. We have pursued the construction and completion of a second runway at the Ibom International Airport and a 1.2km underground drainage in Uyo by Nsikak Eduok/Oron road junction,” he noted.
Legal brickbats can be a drab and boring exercise, especially to the uninitiated. The call of witnesses to the dock, the questions, mannerism, gesticulations, the objections and the counters can really wrack the nerves. But, watching the Learned Men throw banters at each other at the beginning and end of court sessions and charging at each other during proceedings presents quite a paradox. Call it a profession’s shenanigans if you like. It’s just the ways of law and Lawyers.
This scenario was evident in the contentious Akwa Ibom governorship election legal tussle holding in Hall 8 of the Abuja High Court. It was exhirating watching Lawyers in the legal divide trying to ensnare each other to score legal points in a case which ordinarily should have been a very straight case of electoral fraud perpetrating against a people who have the constitutional right to choose who should governed them.
But, the most exciting part of the court drama, is usually when parties to a dispute are asked to adopt their written addresses to capture the high points in their attempt to sway the jury to see the law from their point of view. The drama, gesticulations, the shouting match, the inference to the position of law, quotations from authorities and decided cases to buoy up positions, and of course the resort to frivolous applications, to delay or derail the strings and order of proceeding, added to firm up such excitement
All these scenes played out October 8, 2015, when the parties in the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Petition, were scheduled to adopt their written addresses, and consequently got a reserved date for judgment. First, to fire the strings of application was the Counsel to the Second Respondent, PDP, Mr Tayo Oyetibo who had failed to file their reply on point of law within the time prescribed by law and consequently sought extension of time. He capitalized on an innocuous typographical error on the date on the signature page of the Petitioners Address, which was suppose to be Sept. 30 but typed Oct. 30.2015.
It should be noted that it was on the signature page but not on the front page, to object to its adoption. This objection met the dexterity of Counsel to the Petitioner (Umana/APC), Wole Olanipekun(SAN), who after intense argument, backed by citations of law and decided cases got the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Sadiq Umar, to retort and warn “ Do not drag my court back.” He subsequently dismissed the objection.
• Umana
After the initial attempt to “drag the tribunal back”, the Final Addresses on the point of law commenced. Counsel to Umana/APC, Mr Wole Olanipekun (SAN) fired the first salvo by urging the Tribunal to grant all the reliefs he sought on about 11 grounds. Among the areas, he stated he had proven his case were in the irregularities. Seeing election as a process, he said the components and ingredients of elections, viz, accreditation, voting and collation were all proven to be irregular in the April 11, governorship elections in Akwa Ibom State. He said that the mistake the Respondents made was to chose to see the Petitioner’s case merely on Exhibit 317 which is the evidence from the card reader, instead of looking at the whole gamut of evidence from a total of360 exhibits, 52 witnesses, making a grand total of 412 materials (talisman), to prove their case.
He equally, drew the Tribunals attention to pages 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the address which proved the issue of accreditation. In pages 17 and 18, the issue of collation were proven while pages 19 – 24 in the address graphically addressed the issue of return forms. He said the issue of regularity which the respondents made a big issue out of, can only arise if there was regularity in the election, but not in the case where the election was marred by widespread irregularities.
He said this was a case in which even the Governorship candidate in the election was not even allowed to vote! And, equally reminded the jury that the petition was able to bring two governorship candidates of other political parties (Accord and DPP) to come and testify to the Tribunal, while the Respondents couldn’t bring any. It was in the opinion of the Counsel that it bespeak of serious infraction in the election if the petitioner could call collation agents to come to the Tribunal to testify and the respondents couldn’t bring any.
Olanipekun referred the tribunal to pages 8, 9, 10 and 11 of his address to counter the point the respondents made about the issue of card reader where they said was against the Electoral Act and asked rhetorically whether the use of card reader did not prove the issue of accreditation. He seriously sought the attention of the tribunal to the fact that though the respondents brought the Incidence forms to the tribunal, they didn’t tender them. The simple reason being that those forms, meant to authenticate accreditation for voting, were not signed! It was a clear case of allocating figure and seeking to fill the forms, but the ad-hoc electoral officers couldn’t be traced to sign them.
Counsel to the petitioners reminded the tribunal that while the petitioners brought ballot papers before the court, the respondents ended up saying the ballots were mixed up, a clear bridge of the electoral guidelines which require that ballots should be clearly filed away and stored after elections, in order which the elections were held. But, in this case, the ballots were jumbled up, showing criminal intent.
Concluding the address, the lawyer backed his erudition by quoting from a plethora of laws, rules, legislation and decided cases, and urged the Lordship to grant all the reliefs sought by the petitioners, adding a time- tested quote “No election known to law, no election known to mankind, no election known to civilization was conducted in Akwa Ibom State” ( on April 11, 2015). He added “The respondents ran away from discussing the issue of the mode of accreditation, they constantly attacked card readers but they ran away from discussing how the accreditation was done. They brought incidence forms but refused to tender them.”
•Emmanuel
Conversely, and expectedly, the respondents which include Udom Emmanuel, PDP, INEC and Resident Electoral Commissioner, Austin Okojie, represented by Paul Usoro (SAN), Tayo Oyetibo and Onyechi Ikpeazu, tried to put up spirited effort to douse the brilliant erudition of the petitioners. They all hinged their defence on the regularity of the process, which they posit was in favour of INEC as far the election results were concerned. This was meant to counter the petitioners’ claims that the elections were marred by irregularities.
Paul Usoro was particular in stating that the election result was a pyramid and form EC 8A collated from polling units was not used to prove irregularities. He equally made allusion to the fact that, with 2980 polling units, only 52 witnesses were called by the petitioner. But the question in this case has been, if the petitioners presented 52 witnesses and also tendered 360 exhibits, making a total of 412 talisman, how many did the election ‘winner’ presents? 19 witnesses for Udom Emmanuel out of over 400 listed and a further application for 9000! Laughable.
The case of PDP and INEC presented a pathetic case. While Tayo Oyetibo harped on the assertion that the petitioner said that they were no election but it presented card readers, and that the petitioners said only 19 wards had elections, INEC represented by Mr Ikpeazu equally attacked the card reader(exhibit 317), and why it was not a veritable material in the case. The learned SAN also saw something wrong with the employment of forensic experts, saying they were not in Akwa Ibom state during the election and were merely relying on documentary hearsay. He also faulted the petitioners’ claim that they were voting in some cases but materials were snatched on the way to collation centres.
The points to note here is that harping on the card reader was INEC method to curb rigging, and was officially designated as a tool during the elections. In any case, the petitioner brought exhibit 317 (card reader) to disprove the claim of over a million accredited voters as claimed by INEC. Secondly, if other states have used card readers, adhering strictly to the directive from INEC National Secretary, Mrs Augusta C. Ogakwu that the use of the equipment was compulsory, why didn’t the Akwa Ibom INEC obey the rule?
Most important, why didn’t they tender the Incidence which was supposed to be the alternative to the card reader? And still, which method did the state electoral body was used to authenticate the voters if the card reader and the Incidence form are not the basis for verifying voters? Again, the claim that the forensic expert were not in the state when the fraud of election occurred, is to say the least, infantile. Must forensic auditors, pathologists, etc, be around when financial fraud or murder is committed? For God’s sake these are researches that can capture or authenticate fraud whether you are around or not when the crimes were committed.
A million questions can be asked but that would be left for the Tribunal, while they ponder over the volume of evidences before them. But one thing is sure, it is quite soothing to know that elections in our state and country is going through serious scrutiny. The era when touts, miscreants and societal misfits take over the political space, using intimidation, will grind to an end. And this will largely depend on a court verdict that will be decided on the points of law and not on technicalities. Mundane issues such as using initials for witnesses, signing signatures in inappropriate places or putting dates in wrong places cannot vitiate the fact that law abiding citizens were eager to go out and exercise their constitutional franchise but were stopped by people who insisted on foisting themselves on them and continue to exhibit mediocrity, impudence, and arrogance in the political space of our people. It is one election that will bring sanity to our electoral system and encourage people who something to contribute to society to step forward. And, most important, it will make politics persuasive, passionate and would have complemented the change mantra which is coursing through the land like a tide.
Ankak, a journalist and public affairs analyst, lives in Lagos
Former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (Southsouth) Chief Edet Nkpubre dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC ), shortly before the last general elections, saying it lacked internal democracy. In this interview with reporters in Uyo, the Akwa State capital, he argues that the interest of the Oro nation would be better served under the APC. He also predicts that there would be a rerun governorship election in the state.
Do you think the invasion of Akwa Ibom Government House by the DSS defied the governor’s constitutional right to immunity?
How can the people talk about immunity as a personal thing? It is personal only to the person of the governor, not to the environment. Immunity does not stop investigation. It only stops prosecution. So, if there are killings in government lodge; if arms are kept in government lodge, I don’t think that those saddled with the responsibility of keeping this country safe and secure have a genuine reason not to go and find out. That is investigation and so, nobody should complain if Governor Emmanuel is being charged to court, but he has not been charged. The DSS operatives has gone there to do a job, but whether they are satisfied based on information that took them there or accomplished what took them there is another matter. The DSS do not publish their findings on the pages of newspapers. It is not a political party; it is a security outfit. I object to some people’s request that the operatives should tell the whole world their findings.
Do you read any political meaning to that invasion?
I don’t. What is the state government saying is wrong with the operation at the Government House? There is nothing wrong with that. Nobody has been arrested; nobody has been prosecuted; nobody has been harassed. They went for the information they needed and left. So, why should anybody complain?
But, some PDP elders in the state point fingers at the APC and accuse Buhari of using the DSS to aid Umana Umana to hijack power through the back door.
I don’t think so. After all, we know who was in control of the DSS here. Somebody was totally in control of all the security agencies in the state, including the police in the recent past. We in the APC did not kill ourselves. I remember we visited the then Commissioner of Police. He told us that even in the United States of America (USA), there are no free and fair elections and that we should not expect a free and fair election in Akwa Ibom. It was as simple as that. So, why is the PDP complaining about an election that was not free and fair in the first place. They are crying that Umana wants to use security agencies to take over government by force because they expect a rerun. They are afraid. If the court orders a rerun, in a free and fair election, we will thrash the PDP. Everybody in Akwa Ibom knows that the current government is Akpabio’s third term and they find it repulsive.
You were a chieftain of the PDP, which was at the helm of affairs at the federal level for 16 years. So, what has your experience been since you defected to the APC?
I am now a chieftain of the APC in Akwa Ibom State. I resigned my membership of the PDP at my ward level before the last general elections and delivered my local government for the APC. The PDP had played its part for 16 years and it is up to Nigerians to put them on a scale with what Buhari has done in a couple of months. Without being biased, I think the scale is tilting in favour of Buhari, who has performed creditably within the very short period he has been in government.
The level of defections for selfish interests is becoming worrisome. Can you tell us why you dumped the PDP at the time you did?
It is not about my personal interest. I have said it many times that I am an Oron man. I am fighting for the interest of my community. The then governor, Akpabio, said that Ibibio has ruled and Annang has ruled and the next in line is Oron, but he didn’t allow Oron people to even survive in the primary. He picked Emmanuel, an Ibibio man, from Zenith Bank and handed him the ticket. By the arrangement of things, an Oron man cannot governor Akwa Ibom State in the next 60 years. I am now with the APC, supporting somebody from Uyo Senatorial District. After eight years, Oron people would have a chance to contest for governorship in Akwa Ibom. I am in the APC because the party cares for the interest of my people; it will stop the kind of impunity that we witnessed in the state in the recent past. With the APC in power, gangsterism, killings and maiming of people will become a thing of the past. The APC is the party that’ll fundamentally change the state. That is the change I crave for and not my personal interest. Let me state this clearly, politics has never put food on my table. I left my profession and businesses to come into politics in 2008. Everybody here knows that I never benefited from a single contract from the government.
Governor Emmanuel is believed to have performed in his 100 days, especially in the areas of industrialisation and infrastructural development. What is your assessment of him?
Governor Emmanuel has not done anything. He has no money to do anything. The state’s debt profile has overwhelmed him. He is one of the governors who have refused to declare what he inherited from his predecessor in terms of assets and liabilities. I don’t see this government as Emmanuel’s government. I see his tenure as Akpabio’s third term. In the appointment of commissioners, I see it as Akpabio’s third term; in his continuation of marginalising Oron, I see it as Akpabio’s third term; in his programme for the entire Ibibios, I see it as Akpabio’s third term; in allowing ethnic disharmony, inequity and injustice, I see it as a continuation of Akpabio’s policy. He has not addressed anything; he is still addressing issues like Akpabio.
But, he has attracted an automobile assembly to the state, re-activated some ailing industries and constructed roads…
All the people are seeing and hearing are flag-offs and ground-breakings. There is nothing working in those places at the moment. After all, Akpabio did a ground-breaking ceremony at Ibaka Deep Seaport in 2009? Where is it today? You see these are shenanigans built around the politics of possible rerun of governorship election in 2015. They know there would be a rerun. It is part of their campaign strategies for the anticipated rerun. They don’t have the resources to do anything. Akwa Ibom State is heavily indebted. Only fools would be deceived by such antics.
Agbami Oil Field operators led by Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited, a subsidiary of Chevron, have donated a fully-equipped chest clinic for the treatment of tuberculosis and other heart related diseases to Akwa Ibom State.
The clinic, which has been inaugurated, has been handed over to the state. The facility is at the Immanuel General Hospital, Afaha Eket, Eket Local Government Area.
The Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, noted that tuberculosis is a dangerous disease and, as such, all hands must be on deck to tackle it.
Emmanuel spoke of the need for government and partners to re-strategise and channel their efforts towards tackling the new challenge of drug resistant strains of tuberculosis.
The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, described tuberculosis as a devastating public health problem that has been responsible for a high level of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and the world at large.
He commended Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited and partners for the gesture, adding that the clinic would mark a great turning point in the control and possible elimination of the disease in the state.
His words: “Tuberculosis is a known chronic and debilitating disease responsible for a high level of morbidity and mortality globally.
“According to a recent national prevalence survey of tuberculosis, Nigeria has the highest prevalence in the African continent and the third highest in the world.
“In Akwa Ibom state, thousands of residents have been diagnosed to have tuberculosis of which over 90 percent of cases diagnosed have been successfully treated using the anti tuberculosis multi – drug therapy.
“However we are being faced by new challenge in the emergence of drug resistant strains of tuberculosis to treatment, therefore there is a dire need for government and partners to re-strategize with the aim of channeling our efforts towards not only to the prevention of the resistant strain of the disease but also to ensure that those diagnosed with this strain are well catered for and treated in a controlled environment.
“The donation of this chest clinic facility by Star Deepwater Petroleum and its partners in the Agbami field is a great step towards the right direction. This gives the government and indeed residents of Akwa Ibom a base which TB management can be carried out”
Director, Star Deepwater Petroleum Limited, Jeffrey Ewings, represented by Mr. Sam Otuoye said the facility which happened was the 25th provided to different parts of the country including the FCT Abuja, came fully equipped with a standard x-ray machine, male and female wards, treatment rooms, laboratories and gene xpert machine.
“This occasion demonstrates yet another example of the Co-venturer’s determined efforts to improve the healthcare system in Nigeria. I therefore encourage our recipient to effectively manage the chest clinic for the benefit of the people and ensure its sustainability”, he said.
The other partners are: NNPC, Famfa Oil Limited, Stat Oil Nigeria Limited and Petroleo Brasileiro Nigeria Limited.
For more than 140 days since the legal brickbats started in the ongoing trial for the determination of the authenticity or otherwise of the April 11, 2015 governorship elections in Akwa Ibom state, Nigerians, and more specifically Akwa Ibomites have waited , with baited breath, for the likely outcome. And, by the time hearing ended abruptly Thursday, September, 17, 2015, many of these agitated Nigerians who have been following proceedings from the Room 8, of the Abuja High court, venue of the relocated Tribunal sitting, would have formed their opinion on what would be the likely outcome of the debilitating exercise, in terms of the tide of judgement.
This is so because, from the volume of Exhibits presented at the Tribunal, the quality of witnesses, the weight and damning evidences on the credibility or otherwise of the election, it is almost certain to discerning minds, like this writer, that it would only take a miracle for the Akwa Ibom governorship election of April 11, 2015 to be upheld by the Tribunal. The Petitioners, who specifically asked for re-run would certainly be granted the relief.
How do I mean? For some of us who participated in the elections and had firsthand experience of what happened on the election day, it is not strange or surprising that everything went wrong with the Akwa Ibom governorship elections. In fact, prior to the election itself, the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) had shouted itself hoarse, through press releases and media conferences, trying to draw the attention of Nigerians to the schemes and underhand play of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the likely culpability of the umpire, INEC, in the conduct of the governorship and state assembly elections in the state. Virtually all the guidelines required for a major election of that magnitude were not adhered to. They were no display of voters register for people to verify their eligibility to vote, threat of violence and intimidations of the other candidates, lock-out of opposing parties from campaign venues as well as the state-owned media, among many other undemocratic attitudes by the ruling party in the state.
The state APC equally drawn attention to the security breaches that were brewing in the state. For instance, attention were drawn to the purchase of about four hundred hilux vehicles and the sowing of military fatigue uniform for the PDP goons, in the state, but nobody paid any attention. And, when those ‘arsenals’ were unleashed on the hapless citizens of the state, most people were not surprised. Perhaps, that probably accounted for why the APC adopted a more painstaking approach in recording proceeding at the elections, compiled verifiable facts and were more circumspective in their presentations at the trial.
It is equally clear that the Akwa Ibom PDP were not ready to go for the trial ab initio, judging from what has transpired so far. First, they couldn’t readily accept the fact that ‘change’ was here. Their usual shenanigans in bulldozing their way in previous elections, through the allocation of figures and getting away with it had become obsolete by the Attahiru Jega’s introduction of the innovative card readers machines and a court system that had woken up from the slumber. First, it was the deployment of intimidation at the Tribunal sitting that failed. Even their attempt to stop its relocation to Abuja for the safety of the judges and litigants equally hit the rocks. From their bag of tricks came the use of technicalities to knock off the trial which also met a brick wall. And, when it dawn on them that the trial was real, everybody could smell panic from their camp.
Umana
And, so it was when, the petitioners, APC and its flag bearer, Umana Okon Umana called its witnesses to the dock, and the damning testimonies came forth, pouring like torrents, that Nigerians began to appreciate the inhuman nature of our brand of politics. I mean how can anyone explain that a hapless Youth Corp member, was beaten to stupor, stripped naked and almost killed. Her crime? She stopped thugs from carrying away ballot box in the polling booth she superintended in Uyo metropolis as Adhoc staff of INEC.
Somebody had to remove his jacket to cover her nakedness. This scene was replicated across the state. Or, what could be more damning and humiliating to know that a former governor of the state, Obong Victor Attah was not humoured by allowing him to even vote. His polling booth in Asutan Ekpe had no election materials supplied to it. He had to call media people to bear him witness. And, he was personally at the Tribunal to tell his story. Same goes for Chief Don Etiebet, a former presidential candidate in this country and a BOT member of the PDP. Even the governorship candidate of the APC, Umana Umana couldn’t vote in his own ward in Nsit Ubium. The big question is, if these known faces couldn’t vote, who else did?
Emmanuel
The answer is that, the election you saw in Akwa Ibom, on television, was just for the camera. The 1,158,624 votes declared in the state for the governorship were just cooked figures. People sat somewhere and wrote it in connivance with the INEC in the state. And this clearly showed when the few witnesses called by counsels to Governor Udom Emmanuel, The PDP and Akwa Ibom INEC all gave contradictory account of what happened during the election. In fact, Defence Witnesses (DWs)26 and 27 by names Austin Nwana and Dominic Okenna, Electoral Officers for Nsit Ubium and Onna Local Government Areas of the state respectively, told disparaging tales on how the pools went. While the latter denied any knowledge of the directive signed by the INEC director of Legal Services, Mrs Augusta C. Ogakwu, making the use of card readers mandatory for the gubernatorial pools, and that in event of any malfunctioning, the pools should be extended to the following day, the former, on the prodding of Mr Solomon Umoh (SAN), one of the Counsels to the petitioners, admitted that he was aware of the directive and that the circular was even pasted in INEC notice board in Uyo. This was just a classic example of the cacophony of disparate voices that trailed the testimonies of the DWs in their attempt to manufacture a semblance of evidence to hoodwink the people that election took place in Akwa Ibom on the April 11, 2015 governorship polls.
That may also be the plausible reasons why the bulk of those who were listed to testify for the defence either feigned sickness or denied ever accepting to be witnesses. An example could be seen in the refusal of Emmanuel Enoidem, a serving official of the state government (then and now) who was listed as the state collation officer for the PDP who had to beat a hasty retreat when he, probably, was told that as a serving official in the state, he had no constitutional approval to collate electoral result for that administration. It went further to show why out of the more than 400 witnesses listed by Udom Emmanuel, and an application for another 9,000 witnesses ( granted by the tribunal), only 19 witnesses were willing to show up. For the PDP, only four witnesses came forth out of the long list they advertised while another four appeared for INEC out of 94 witnesses while the Petitioners presented 56 witnesses and wanted more days to bring more?. Can anybody then be in doubt why the defence lawyers closed their cases before the expiration of their allotted days, and were in the habit of giving frivolous excuses for not bringing forth their witnesses?
To say that the defence collapsed like a pack of card before the Tribunal is stating the obvious. Their effort to play up the unreliability of the card readers machines fell flat while their resort to the use of incident forms could not fly either. In fact, the incident forms which they so much trumpeted and even caused the Tribunal to issue a subpoena to bring them from Uyo was not even presented as Exhibit for the simple fact that it was not going to help their case, having realised belatedly that those cards were not signed by the Adhoc staff, mostly Youth Service personnel who could not be traced to do the hatchet job. This really infuriated the Tribunal Chairman, Sadiq Umar who ordered the seven bags to be removed from the Tribunal’s store.
By now, it is clear to the defence counsels comprising Mr Paul Usoro (SAN) for Udom Emmanuel, Tayo Adetibo (SAN) for PDP and Alex Ejesieme of INEC that the battle is as good as lost. It was also clear from the proceedings that the concocted figure of 1,158,624 could not be reconciled with the figures which the PDP and INEC allocated 996,071 to Udom Emmanuel and 89,313 to Umana Okon Umana of APC. The clincher, the card readers in the central pool of INEC in Abuja, recorded only 437, 128 as the accredited voters for the state. The INEC head of ICT collaborated this when he testified for the petitioners. This was further worsened by the distortions in the filling of form EC8A, EC8B and EC8C which are meant for results of votes collated from Units, Wards and local government areas of the state .
And as the first and crucial round of the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election ended, and the final addresses by both the petitioner and defence counsels awaited, it is left to be seen what issues would be canvassed to bring the whole melodrama to a close. As the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Sadiq Umar noted in his remarks before adjoining the case to October 8, 2015 for the adoption of written addresses, parties to the dispute were strongly advised to adhere strictly to the schedule in order to meet the constitutional provisions for determining the case.
Ultimately, every right thinking democrat is very satisfied with the turn of our electoral fortunes. I can bet that with the introduction of card readers and the unbiased handling of electoral cases so far, our democracy is beginning to take root. Nigerians , who believed that elections can only be won by the garrison approach, I am sure are beginning to have a rethink. It is obvious that impunity, the biggest bane of our democratic experience is gradually taking the back seat.
Ankak, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes from Lagos
The Akwa Ibom state Governor Udom Emmanuel has assured that international flight operations will begin at the state-owned international airport from June 2016.
“As the Ibom International Airport gears up for International Flight Operations, the terminal building and other facilities are to be redesigned to accommodate the expected influx of local and international passengers.”
The governor dropped the hint during the inspection of the intended runway currently being upgraded at the airport.
He observed that the taxi way is designed to carry 747 and 380 series of international airbus cargo which he said would touch down the airport from June next year.
“The main runway can take any kind of aircraft. It can take Airbus A380, Boeing 747 aircraft. The length of the runway can meet any category of highest grade in terms of airport development. We are building for the future.”
Two female armed robbers who specialise in looting shops, boutiques, supermarkets and restaurants have been nabbed.
The notorious gang which has been terrorising pedestrians and residents of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom Capital, using keke to operate was last Thursday apprehended by some residents of Ekpo Obot Street who gave them a hot pursuit after they had stolen from a boutique at No. 15 Ekpo Obot Street.
Narrating her ordeal, the Boutique sales girl, Imaobong Isaiah exclaimed: “See me o-o-o! The two girls entered my shop on a pretence to buy from me but after picking all the costly female hand bags, shoes, men jeans, hand watches and cloths worth forty-five thousand naira, instead of paying for what they have bought, they sent me to go and buy them drinks.
“So, I went to buy drinks for them at the nearby shop. As I returned, I met them making calls, and immediately their operational Keke man who was on standby to pick them came and they dashed inside the Keke with all my cloths without paying. So, I told them to give me my cloths, they refused.
“So, I started shouting, help! Thief! Thief! But the Keke man had already moved. As God would like it, luck ran out on them, the people around and people using cars pursued them and caught them.”
Questioning the two suspects, Grace Ekpo and Mfon Daniel from Itiam Ikot Ebia, Uyo Local Government, they confessed to the crime; saying apart from looting from shops, they have been involved in all kinds of robberies in the State and begged the people not to kill them.
They said: “When we enter peoples’ shops, we will pack the most costly ones; after which we will ask the attendant to get us water or send you on an errand. That will make us run away with the goods without paying for it. We rob women in Keke, we pick recharge card bags and anything that would fetch us quick money.’’
The gang was however saved from the angry mob when men of the Police Force arrived the scene, and whisked them away to the Police Station along Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo.
An eyewitness told this reporter that the gang had earlier also stolen clothes from another boutique on the same street, including hand bags full with recharge cards and cash of about fifty thousands of naira.
Police Public Relations Officer Cordelia Nwawe could not be reached to comment on the development.
