The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Akwa Ibom

  • Akwa Ibom admits owing banks N64.5b

    The Akwa Ibom State government has admitted owing commercial banks N64.5 billion.

    This followed criticisms by civil rights organisations and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which urged Governor Udom Emmanuel to make public the state’s debt profile.

    Finance Commissioner Akan Okon addressed reporters yesterday in Uyo, the state capital.

    He expressed the government’s desirability to convert the state’s debt to Federal Government bonds.

    Okon said Akwa Ibom State was taking advantage of the opportunity the Federal Government offered to convert the N64.5 billion debt to bonds.

    According to him, Emmanuel, being a financial expert, adopted the financial engineering method to free up more funds to finance development and other basic services in the state.

    Okon said: “Whereas Akwa Ibom State was paying N3.6 billion monthly to service its loans, going by the short-term instruments of such loans, the Federal Government bond, with long-term financing, will reduce the payment to a mere N300 million a month. This will free about N3 billion for developmental projects. We wrote to the House of Assembly for approval and an enabling law on this arrangement.

    “This is one of the requirements from the Debt Management Office (DMO) for the state to enjoy the approval of benefiting from the Federal Government bond facility.”

    The commissioner said the debt repayment would last 20 years, adding that it would not choke the state’s financial system.

    He dismissed the rumour that the government had barred other commercial banks from operating its account.

    Okon said all commercial banks were allowed to maintain the government’s account, adding that they would only maintain a single unit account that must be captured by the Pay Direct System (PDS).

    Information and Communications Commissioner Aniekan Umanah restated Emmanuel’s commitment to completing ongoing projects.

     

     

  • 1,959 flood victims in Akwa Ibom get N50,000 each

    Akwa Ibom State government has provided financial assistance to 1,959 flood victims in Eket and Uyo, according to Mrs Sylvia Ekpo, Permanent Secretary, Deputy Governor’s Office.

    Ekpo told reporters yesterday in Uyo that individuals not families benefitted from the financial assistance.

    She said that each of the 1,959 victims received N50,000.

    “The beneficiaries are those who made official reports to our office.

    “The day after the flood, I and my boss went to the spot to assess the situation.

    “In Eket we captured 1,670 names, while in Uyo we had 289 victims,’’ she said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalled that the flood was caused by torrential rainfall which occurred on June 29 that lasted for several hours.

    Ekpo explained that victims, who reported their cases to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were the people eligible to benefit from the largesse.

    “The government decided that instead of giving the victims relief materials, we should give them financial assistance,’’ she said.

    She said that officials of SEMA visited the affected areas to assess the situation before capturing the victims that qualified for the assistance.

  • Five die in gully at Akwa Ibom community

    •Youths attack contractor

    •Houses submerged in Ikpa town

    •Families, contractor seek Emmanuel’s help

    Five persons have been reported dead in Ikpa town, Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. They were said to have been submerged by a gully in Adeng, Ikpa Village.

    The erosion also rendered homeless scores of other residents.

    Angry youths from the community, at the weekend, revolted against O. J. Osubob and Company Limited, the contractor handling the erosion site.

    The company was said to have been awarded the contract to provide drainage for the area since 2013.

    The aggrieved youths were said to have attacked the home of the company’s Managing Director, Princce Osubob.

    They accused him of abandoning the contract after the government had mobilised him in 2013, thereby causing the death of the five residents.

    Among the deceased is Mr. Etim Jonah, a worker of the Union Technical College, Ikpa.

    He reportedly slipped and got submerged in the gully while going to work.

    Others are: Idorenyin Edoho Ntekim, Monday Harry and two minors.

    The youth, who wielded machetes and other weapons, demanded compensation from Prince Osubob to assuage the families of the deceased and take care of their children and wards.

    They said if the contractor did not divert the contract’s funds and had executed the job, the deaths and property losses would not have occurred.

    Addressing reporters, spokesman for the youth, Okon Bassey Inyang said: “O. J. Osubob and Company must pay for the loss of those lives and property. The company must compensate the families of the deceased so that they can take care of the training of their children and other dependants; nothing more.

    “This contract was awarded to tackle erosion menace in this village since in 2013. But he abandoned the job, thereby worsening the situation which led to the death of five residents, who slipped and got submerged in the gully. He has to pay for the death of those persons.”

    The company chief was said to have fled his home before the angry youths got there.

    The town’s elders begged the youth not to torch Osubob’s home.

    But the company chief denied collecting mobilisation fee for the contract.

    He said: “It is true that the administration of former Governor Godswill Akpabio awarded my company, O. J. Osubob and Company Limited, the contract on erosion control and road diversion. But the contract was stalled due to non-release of funds by the government.

    “I have followed the processes leading to the award of the contract and even moved my equipment to site. Unfortunately, no fund was released by the government for me to execute the job.

    “Since I had moved equipment to the site, I went and secured bank facilities and started the job to ameliorate the situation, with the hope that the government would pay me as agreed. But after exhausting the money I obtained from banks and government did not release any money to me till date, I couldn’t push the work further.

    “I have incurred a lot of debts as a result of this contract. The banks that gave the loans to commence the job are on my neck. Now, suspicious and angry youths have attacked my house and, perhaps, a worse harm could have been done, if they met anybody in the house when they came.

    “So, as it is now, I am appealing to Governor Udom Emmanuel to come to my rescue by revalidating the contract and releasing the fund for the job to be done. That way, I can redeem my reputation before the people of lkpa Village and reconcile with the banks that gave me the facilities to start the job.”

    Also, Ime, one of the siblings of the late Harry, urge the government to relocate the family to another community.

    He said their compound was at the verge of being submerged by the gully erosion.

    Ikpa Youths Leader, Solomon Sunday, urged Emmanuel to release funds for the contractor to rescue the community from being consumed by the erosion.

  • Cleric seeks free education for Akwa Ibom private schools

    An appeal has been made to Akwa Ibom State governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, to do everything possible not only to sustain the free and compulsory education started by his predecessors, but extend the gesture to private schools in the state.

    The Bishop and General Overseer of Rapture Trust Gospel Ministries International Incorporated, His Lordship Dr. Moswill Umoh, said the call became imperative because private school owners are providing qualitative education to the citizens, one responsibility Umoh believes government should shoulder.

    He said maintenance of acceptable standard, payment of salaries to teachers and non teaching staff, maintenance of school infrastructure and the provision of a conducive teaching and learning environment remain a daunting task for private school owners.

    “It is a good thing that the free and compulsory education was started in Akwa Ibom State public schools, but the teachers and proprietors of the private schools are training the children for the state and the nation and not for themselves.

    Therefore, to take the free and compulsory education a step further, government should among other things, pay fees for Akwa Ibom children in private schools and assist in the smooth running of the schools,” Umoh said.

    The cleric, who was a teacher, recalled that he was trained free by Federal Government during his Teacher Training College (TTC) day. He said he has been able to transfer same knowledge to countless children in his career.

    Umoh, who runs a school and an Orphanage all located within the expansive church premises, noted that if government help train children in both public and private schools, they will ever remain grateful to the state and in return will be willing to reciprocate such gesture.

    The cleric also frowned at parents who abandon their children in boarding houses and would not pay their fees on time, as well as those who keep changing their children’s school over insignificant issues. He warned that they are doing the children harm and causing them embarrassment.

     

  • ‘How Akwa Ibom election was marred’

    ‘How Akwa Ibom election was marred’

    The Akwa Ibom State Election Petition Tribunal has been receiving testimonies from the petitioners’ witnesses. JOSEPH JIBUEZE recounts some of the revelations. 

    Amid allegations of threats to security, the Akwa Ibom Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal was relocated from Uyo, the state’s capital, to Abuja. It followed the approval of All Progressives Congress (APC’s) request by the Court of Appeal President Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.

    Following the April 11 election, the APC had rejected the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which proclaimed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Udom Emmanuel winner.

    In its petition, the APC and its candidate Umana Okon Umana, alleged, among others, that the election was marred by widespread electoral malpractices, disenfranchisement of voters and a declaration of votes for the PDP in virtual violation of INEC provisions that required that all votes cast be duly accredited. To him, there was no election.

    A member of the party’s legal team, Victor Iyanam, had accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Austin Okojie, of consistently refusing to cooperate with the APC to conduct forensic examination of materials. The electoral commissioner, however, denied the accusation, saying the only disagreement was whether to allow the party go straight to scan the documents, or sort out and count the documents before scanning.

    APC’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun(SAN), sought the relocation of the petition from Uyo because of threats of insecurity and also to guarantee the expeditious dispensation of justice.

    Effort to stop the tribunal from sitting in Abuja failed. The tribunal dismissed Emmanuel’s motion challenging its jurisdiction, describing it as misconceived and misplaced.

    The Tribunal Chairman, Justice Sadiq Umar agreed with Olanipekun that the issue of security is recognised in law in deciding where an election tribunal should sit. The tribunal held that the objection raised against the relocation for security reasons was misconceived.

    Among those who have testified is a business man Michael George from Ibesikpo Asuquo LGA. He said he acted as APC’s agent during the election. His collation unit, he said, was at Nung Ukana.

    He said he got to the collation centre on election day at about 1:30 pm and left around 5:00 pm. He said he did not meet any other party agent at the centre.

    George said there was no election in his LGA, therefore, no result could have emanated from there. According to him, his polling agents reported to him through phone calls that there was no election. He said there was no election anywhere in his ward.

    Another witness, Steve Ekpenyong, a cleric based in Obot Akara, said he is from the same area as the former Deputy Governor, Chris Ekpenyong. The witness said he was at the ward collation centre from 7:30 am and left at about 8:30 am.

    According to him, his polling unit was opposite his ward collation centre, and he was at the collation centre till 12:00 am the next day. He said his party had two LGA collation agents and that he made calls to them informing them that all the election materials had been hijacked by hoodlums.

    Ekpeyong said he did not report to the police because officers were allegedly present when he was beaten up by the thugs while electoral officers were nowhere to be found.

    Under cross examination, he said he saw a man at the collation centre who was in custody of the materials before they were hijacked, adding that the materials never reached the polling units.

    A former Petroleum Resources Minister Atuekong Don Etiebet told the tribunal that elections did not hold according to law in Oruk Anam LGA where he comes from.

    He testified to massive irregularities, including but not limited to ballot snatching, absence of ballot materials at polling units, and violence.

    He tendered four exhibits, namely: his voter’s card; his press statement condemning the sham elections, newspaper publication of the press statement and a video recording of his visit along with other leaders of the state to INEC head office in Uyo on the night of the election to see whether there was state collation of the ballot.

    He said during the visit they found the INEC’s office in total darkness with no work going on. Okojie, he said, was nowhere to be found on election night when the office ought to be a beehive of activity. He said he was surprised that the following morning, a result was announced and Emmanuel was declared winner.

    A former governor, Obong Victor Attah, also testified. He tendered his PVC to prove that he was a registered voter. However, he said he could not vote because elections did not hold in his town.

    He also tendered video recordings and testified orally to the effect that elections did not hold according to law in Ibesikpo Asutan LGA where he hails from.

    A female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, who served in Mbiabong, Uyo, recounted how thugs allegedly invaded her unit and carted away election materials.

    She said the hoodlums arrived in vehicles with arms, shouting and hailing the PDP and grabbed the ballot materials under her watch. When she resisted them, she said, they beat her up, tore up her clothing and threatened to incapacitate her.

    She said a kind onlooker brought his jacket to cover her near nakedness. She added that she and her colleagues at the unit had to run for dear lives. She tendered the clothing as evidence.

    The Tribunal began on July 13. At the start, lawyers to Emmmanuel, Paul Usoro and Tayo Oyetibo, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), argued that the tribunal should disallow all key witnesses brought by the APC on the basis of alleged concealment of their names.

    The SANs had separately raised objections on the statements on oath made by all the APC witnesses on the ground that their real names were not on the statements but initials and acronyms.

    Oyetibo argued that the mere use of initials or acronyms should not be allowed by the tribunal to confer originality on the witnesses since their real names were not printed on the statements they had sworn to.

    But Olanipekun insisted they had the right under the law to use initials or acronyms on their statements on oath. He cited different authorities to back up his claims, as he adduced the issue of security as reason names of witnesses are often concealed.

    Justice Umar held that the objection was strange and could not be supported by law. He agreed with Olanipekun’s submission by that witnesses have the right under the law to use their initials or acronym on their statements on oath.

    INEC was directed to move all of the materials used in the elections that are in their custody to Abuja and make them available to the APC team for forensic inspection. But before an extension was granted for the inspection, respondents opposed the application on the grounds that APC and its candidate did not rightly state the facts. The petitioner had, however, complained that the forensic team was not allowed to carry out its work.

    It was alleged that the PDP who is a respondent and who’s role in the forensic exercise is to primarily observe the process were strangely given priority to determine how the process is carried out.

    Some of the excuses that hampered the inspection since May 15 include INEC’s claim that it needed to sort and differentiate ballot papers; and that it wanted to count every  ballot paper before investigation can begin.

    On July 6, when the forensic team, arrived the INEC Institute, they were allegedly denied access to the premises and made to stand outside the gate for hours because there was no letter or prior notice informing them of the visit.

    Akwa Ibom APC Publicity Secretary Ita Awak alleged a bid to “frustrate” his party in carrying out orders made on May 12 and 23 and June 25 asking that INEC grant access to the APC lawyers and its team of forensic experts to inspect the materials.

    Iyanam and APC legal team thereafter petitioned the DSS Director-General and the Inspector-General of Police.  They alleged that a mix up the ballot papers and other sensitive election materials of the Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives elections with the ballot papers and other election materials used for the governorship election.

    They also alleged that water was deliberately poured on bags containing sensitive election materials, soaking them in the process.

    Besides, they alleged that other bags containing more critical election materials were kept under the rain, contrary to INEC directives and established practice of keeping sensitive and important election materials and documents in INEC-approved and supplied sealable envelops and containers.

    They also allege that hundreds of thousands of ballot papers and other election materials supposedly used for the governorship election were physically mutilated beyond redemption, making it absolutely impossible for the APC forensic experts to scan them for forensic examination.

    Akwa Ibom PDP chairman Paul Ekpo’s had accused APC leaders of planning “to use every means at their disposal to subvert the will of our people,” including deploying DSS personnel to harass them, which Awak denied.

    The APC state spokesman said the DSS officials accused of “partisanship” were only “helping to contain and bring to justice people with criminal tendencies…”

    All eyes are on the tribunal to see how it all ends. Section 134 (2) of the Electoral Act 2010 states “that an election tribunal shall deliver its judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of filing of the petition.”

     

     

  • Better days ahead for Akwa Ibom rural dwellers?

    Despite the widely celebrated uncommon transformation in Akwa Ibom State, about 80 per cent of the people still live in the rural areas. And in abject poverty. They lack infrastructure and other good things of life.

    The roads in the urban centre are smooth, but coarse in the rural areas.

    The Ministry of Rural Development says it is interested in making life more meaningful for the rural dwellers.

    During an inspection tour of the rural areas by the ministry, the first point of call was the Ikot Abia-Enyie in Nsit Atai Local Government Area  where a bridge measuring about 20 meters had been abandoned due to shortage of funds.

    The bridge is instrumental and strategic to the wellbeing and the development of the people because if completed it will connect several villages together with the help of a nearby river.

    The river, popularly called “Atang River”, is also useful. It is the main source of water to the people but not without its demerits. For instance, in the last one year, the river had claimed the lives of eight pupils.

    The chairman of the village council, Chief Etop Umanah, said the pupils drowned in the water following the downpour which led to the river overflowing its bank while returning from school.

    Atang River divides Ikot Abia-Enyie village into two; with all the facilities in the area – a health centre, a primary and a secondary school, located at the other side of the river.

    Umanah stated that it was the custom of the village to wait for the pupils and women at the bank of the river during the schools’ closing hours whenever there was downpour.

    He explained that it was unfortunate that before the men from the village could get to the river to rescue the pupils, the water had already carried them away.

    According to Umanah, the bodies of the pupils were recovered three days after.

    He revealed that in the preceding year three pupils and a pregnant woman died in the same river, noting that as the pupils tried to come back from school, the pregnant woman was trying to make her way back from the health centre.

    His words: “This village, Abia-Enyie lost eight children to Atang River this year as they were returning from school following a downpour which aided the river to overflow its bank. Last year, we lost three pupils and a pregnant woman in the same manner.

    “The village is one village; it is split by this river. All the facilities of this village – a health centre, a primary and a secondary school are all sited at the other side of the river. We cannot stop the children from going to school.”

    But speaking during the inspection of some facilities in the rural area, the State’s Commissioner of Rural Development, Mr. Ekong Sampson, told reporters that the Akwa Ibom State government was ready to end not only the pupils’ death, but all the deaths associated with Atang River.

    According to him, it pained the government to see Akwa Ibom children perishing in river as he assured the people that government would embark on remedial measures to end the carnage before work on the bridge was started and completed.

    He words: “That is why I have chosen to come here by myself. I am really touched by what I have seen. We will make every effort to ensure that infrastructure is brought to this community and to every other rural space in the state. And our approach is to go there and see things by ourselves in order to have a first-hand purview of their problems.

    “The state government is committed to transforming our rural space because we all come from villages. The state government is committed to recreating the villages; we are committed to making lives better for those who live in our villages. We shall give government an update about what we have seen here.”

    The representative of the company handling the bridge project, MT & G International Services Limited, Mrs. Tukubor Okpoyo, said the project has been running for three years.

    Even when there is still so much work to be done at the project site, Mrs. Okpoyo said the company had received 50 per cent funding and 90 per cent of work already completed.

    Her words: “I can only tell you we have the will and the expertise to complete this project. The issue of why it has not been completed is strictly an issue of funding. Unfortunately funding has been interrupted. We hope and we are looking forward to resuming project here as soon as we are funded.”

    To enhance the living condition of the people living in the rural area, the Ministry of rural development, according to Commissioner Sampson, has put forward a Rural Development Master Plan (RDMP) which if adopted would serve as a compass for sustainable rural development.

    The RDMP embodies five critical components, namely: rural electrification; rural water supply; rural security; rural road network and bailey bridges; and special rural development interventions.

    Part of the rural security network will be the rehabilitation of some collapsed police stations in the rural areas particularly police stations in Ikot Umiang in Mkpat Enin and the one in Ikot Okoro in Oruk Anam local government area.

    Also the Anwa Urua market in Oruk Anam is part of the initiative. The government plan to give it a face-lift so as to serve the rural dwellers better.

    The commissioner noted that the government was committed to rebuilding the market so that it can serve as a source of employment for the teeming youths.

    Are the good times here? Time will tell.

     

  • Akwa Ibom seeks USAID’s help to fight HIV/AIDS

    Akwa Ibom seeks USAID’s help to fight HIV/AIDS

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has appealed to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand its HIV/AIDS intervention programme to all local government areas in the state.

    The governor made the appeal on Tuesday in Uyo when the agency paid him an advocacy visit in line with its 2015 programme outline for the state.

    Emmanuel, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Moses Ekpo, assured USAID of the government’s support in the fight against deadly disease.

    “The readiness of my administration to welcome efforts that will complement the goals and cardinal agenda of my leadership is not in doubt.

    “We use this medium to appeal for necessary assistance from international donor agencies in combating menace of the dreaded disease.

    “We will work with USAID through the ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare to ensure that the organisation achieves its objectives in the state,” he said.

    The governor noted that the USAID had robust programmes that could bring succour to vulnerable children and women in the state.

    He said that the state looked forward to having sufficient succour from the organisation.

    Earlier, the USAID representative, Mrs Susan Coleman, said that they came to acquaint the governor with its programmes on HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis.

    “We are also here to introduce the newest project of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the state as well as indicate effort to mitigate the impact of the virus,” she added.

     

     

  • Akwa Ibom governor’s wife donates relief materials to VVF patients

    The wife of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel, has visited the Pope John Paul 11 Family Life Centre, also known as the VVF Hospital, Mbribit Itam; she donated relief materials, such as mattresses, pillows as well as food items ranging from bags of rice, beans, garri and toiletries to patients in the hospital.

    The governor’s wife, who was represented by her Special Assistant on Women Affairs , Rev. Mrs. Mercy Cephas, thanked the members of staff of the hospital for their commitment to service, noting that though God was the source of help for man, with human beings as the channel.

    She promised that government would do everything possible to ameliorate the plight of patients. While interacting with patients in the wards, she also put smiles on their faces by giving each patient in the hospital cash for their upkeep

    The matron of the home, Rev. Sister, Sylvia Ndubuaku, thanked the governor’s wife for the visit, stating that it was a confirmation of her love and compassion for the vulnerable in the society. She added that the government has supported the hospital in many ways, such as the provision of nurses and other members of staff.

    She highlighted some of the needs of the hospital to include rehabilitation of inmates, firm hospital beds, surgical instrument as well as television set for the patients, while soliciting for governments’ support in this regard.

    Also speaking, a patient in the hospital, Mrs. Mercy Exodus, thanked the governor’s wife for her humane disposition towards the needy and vulnerable in the state, praying that God would sustain and guide her and the governor in the discharge of their duties. She also thanked Mrs Emmanuel for giving them with gifts.

     

  • Akwa Ibom election petition tribunals: Separating facts from fiction, half truths and lies

    Akwa Ibom election petition tribunals: Separating facts from fiction, half truths and lies

    For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth.” – Bo Bennett

    In its characteristic way, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State is seeking to manipulate the system to get reprieve from crimes it committed during last elections by adopting the roles of a victim. According to a news report, circulated by the party’s propaganda machine, it claimed its members are being harassed by the Department of State  Security (DSS), alleging that this agency of government is aiding and abetting the opposition at the venue of the electoral tribunals currently sitting in Abuja.

    Reading this report, one wonders if the State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Obong Paul Ekpo, can recall vividly three months ago how  his party obviouly used the same agency and other security forces to harass, intimidate and kill innocent voters, who dared to resist snatching of ballot boxes by PDP political thugs. Why is PDP raising alarm over alleged harassment of members now the muzzle is facing it?

    As was expected, reportage of ongoing Akwa Ibom State Election Petition Tribunals have become highly controversial, reflecting conflicting interests in the state. On one side are reports from media correspondents on ground in Abuja, where these tribunals are ongoing and on the flipside are political appointees based in Uyo, who rely on second hand information, which are further sieved and skewed before release to the public through state sponsored media outlets and online platforms.

    Funny enough, these government apologists readily circumvent thorny questions raised as cases progress to exaggerate momentary and inconsequential issues, devising well known publicity stunts to sustain lies even though it would have been a lot easier to accept facts staring everyone in the face.

    Whatever is their reason for this deception, it is more important to note that ongoing election tribunals are different from previous ones as they have so far shown independence of the Judiciary, giving hope that the rule of law shall prevail above gimmicks and undue influence. The onus is therefore on both petitioners and respondents to argue their case on points of law regardless of whatever is peddled outside court rooms. This is the first and most critical fact.

    Secondly, supporters of the interim government are at liberty to present various shades of truth about what transpires in court daily, but they cannot undo major gains already made towards recovering what was stolen from the people. Their indiscretion cannot alter a dot in the coming judgment as it will be based on proven facts as stated in law “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.

    Another stanch fact is that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and most of their candidates, including Udom Emmanuel, Godswill Akpabio and others, are before state election petition tribunals in Abuja, to defend allegations of stealing the mandate of Akwa Ibom people during the last elections. Hard pressed Akwa Ibom people have risen as one in a historic move to recover their mandate from a regime that has held them captive for nearly a decade and they will stop at nothing to ensure all respondents answer for their roles in manipulating a simple and straight forward electoral process into some twisted, complicated farce.

    To achieve this feat, the people are determined to take the whole stretch as could be seen in dispassionate testimonies of principal witnesses currently recounting their personal experiences of massive electoral irregularities, fraud and violence allegedly perpetuated by PDP and its agents in active connivance with some corrupt INEC officials. There are recorded evidences proving that April 11 elections in Akwa Ibom State were far cry from credible, free and fair elections stipulated in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) and 2010 Electoral Act (as amended).

    Incidentally, these evidences and testimonies are received regularly in court notwithstanding what lies are peddled about them afterwards. The fact is, having listened to and adopted these evidences and testimonies, the tribunals may rely on them to deliver judgment.

    Above all, from available records published by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, one can decipher the whole story on how electoral fraud were committed by the INEC in Akwa Ibom State. All it takes is a closer look of voter accreditation computed by INEC staff at polling units across the state compared to what INEC Permanent Voter Card, PVC, readers automatically computed and sent to INEC servers in the Headquarters unknown to Okojie and his cohorts.

    Before going through the records, recall that on the 2nd of April, 2015, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued a very clear directive to all its officers that ONLY the “Card Reader” electronic machines be used for the accreditation of voters for the governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for April 11, 2015.

    This directive was reportedly confirmed a couple of days later, by Prof Attahiru Jega, the then Chairman of INEC, during a world press conference where he maintained that the April 2 INEC directive, emphasizing that in places where there are card reader malfunction up to 5 pm, elections in these places should be shifted to Sunday, April 12, 2015. Incidentally, there was nowhere in the over 2,500 polling units across Akwa Ibom state that field officers of INEC reported the malfunction of their card readers meaning there was nowhere in the state where elections were shifted to Sunday, April 12 as such  governorship and state house of assembly elections held on April 11 without problem but how come the numbers computed into the INEC server, which were automatically generated when  Permanent Voters Card (PVC) were verified at the Polling Units across Akwa Ibom state are different from those hand filled in FORM EC 8D by INEC staff at these  polling units? The fact is, those results written in forms EC8D were doctored by INEC staff unaware that back-up PVC verifications were being simultaneously documented in the INEC servers in Abuja!

    Shouldn’t it bother all concerned how the accreditation of voters in Akwa Ibom produced two (sets) of numbers per local government by the same electoral body, one handwritten on FORM EC 8D and the other automatically accredited by INEC Server via PVC; #Akwa Ibom? Answering this question will confirm that indeed an electoral fraud was committed.

    Can INEC explain the following inconsistencies in voter accreditation?

    Abak LGA | Form EC 8D = 45, 358 Accredited | INEC Server = 25,546 Accredited, Eastern Obolo LGA | Form EC 8D = 14,592 Accredited | INEC Server = 6,521 Accredited, Eket LGA | Form EC 8D = 53,576 Accredited | INEC Server = 26,472 Accredited, Esit Eket LGA | Form EC 8D = 28,279 Accredited | INEC Server = 18,812 Accredited, Essien Udim LGA | Form EC 8D = 89,313 Accredited | INEC Server = 8,729 Accredited, Etim Ekpo LGA | Form EC 8D = 45,922 Accredited | INEC Server = 15,481 Accredited, Etinan LGA | Form EC 8D = 44,228 Accredited | INEC Server = 3,383 Accredited.  Also, Ibeno LGA | Form EC 8D = 19,032 Accredited | INEC Server = 11,980 Accredited, Ibesikpo Asutan LGA | Form EC 8D = 39,467 Accredited | INEC Server = 22,512 Accredited, Ibiono Ibom LGA | Form EC 8D = 64,623 Accredited | INEC Server = 10,369 Accredited, Ika LGA | Form EC 8D = 34,697 Accredited | INEC Server = 10,487 Accredited, Ikono LGA | Form EC 8D = 45,666 Accredited | INEC Server = 10,767 Accredited, Ikot Abasi LGA | Form EC 8D = 24,958 Accredited | INEC Server = 9,956 Accredited andIkot Ekpene LGA | Form EC 8D = 52,335 Accredited | INEC Server = 23,218 Accredited.

    Note also Ini LGA | Form EC 8D = 33,554 Accredited | INEC Server = 6,850 Accredited, Itu LGA | Form EC 8D = 27,808. Accredited | INEC Server = 15,557 Accredited, Mbo LGA | Form EC 8D = 13,853 Accredited | INEC Server = 8,545 Accredited, Mkpat Enin LGA | Form EC 8D = 35,412 Accredited | INEC Server = 7,623 Accredited, Nsit Atai LGA | Form EC 8D = 24,748 Accredited | INEC Server = 9,606 Accredited, Nsit Ibom LGA | Form EC 8D = 13,090 Accredited | INEC Server = 13,088 Accredited, Obot Akara LGA | Form EC 8D = 35,836 Accredited | INEC Server = 13,189 Accredited, Okobo LGA | Form EC 8D = 24,280 Accredited | INEC Server = 13,745 Accredited, Onna LGA | Form EC 8D = 54,050 Accredited | INEC Server = 15,864 Accredited, Oron LGA | Form EC 8D = 27,468 Accredited | INEC Server = 17,142 Accredited, Oruk Anam LGA | Form EC 8D = 81,021 Accredited | INEC Server = 21,753 Accredited, Udung Uko LGA | Form EC 8D = 14,094 Accredited | INEC Server = 11,165 Accredited, Ukanafun LGA | Form EC 8D = 48,271 Accredited | INEC Server = 9,846 Accredited, Uruan LGA | Form EC 8D = 38,006 Accredited | INEC Server = 11,599 Accredited, Urue Offong/Oruko LGA | Form EC 8D = 8,141 Accredited | INEC Server = 5,405 Accredited and Uyo LGA | Form EC 8D = 47,990 Accredited | INEC Server = 38,022 Accredited

    In summary, Total Form EC 8D = 1,158,624 Accredited | Total INEC Server = 437,128 with a wide difference of 721,496, more than 50% error yet Akwa Ibom state was among the states that first published election results!

    Figures do not lie and, if the ‘sanctity of the ballot’ (borrowing the phrase from Obong Victor Attah), and by extension, credibility of last elections were founded on voter accreditation, using Permanent Voter Card machines, then one can rightly assert that there was no election in Akwa Ibom state especially on April 11 considering gross discrepancy between FORM EC 8D, compiled by reportedly compromised INEC staff, and those automatically computed by PVC readers and sent to INEC servers.

    Going forward, none of those sham elections (Governorship and State House of Assembly) held on April 11 would be deemed credible using records from PVC readers’ printout from INEC servers. For instance, it is safe to question Form EC 8E compiled by reportedly compromised INEC staff which says Governor Emmanuel Udom got 996,071 votes. How did he get these outrageous figures when PVC readers printout from INEC servers say there were only 437,128 accredited voters in Akwa Ibom State for the April 11 governorship? Mystery surrounding facts such as this is what the election petition tribunals seek to unravel not mannerism of witnesses or whether they spoke correct grammar or not.

    Ukpong, writes from Uyo.

     

  • NNPC probe: What mother tick told its children

    According to a certain African folklore, mother tick, the wizened matriarch of the blood-sucking specie of mites is said to have told her little ones to always stay calm and take cover each time humans begin to act up and begin to switch on the heat.

    “Stay quiet and lie low my children,” mother tick would admonish her fledgling parasites in hushed tone, “whatever is heated up would eventually grow cold.”

    Could this be the unfolding scenario in Nigeria today? Is the new All Progressives Congress (APC) government losing the momentum that brought it to office or is it actually planning diligently to unleash the real transformation?

    Apart from the fact that 30 days after inauguration, the President’s core backroom team (chief of staff and all the secretaries) is not yet in place and running, people fear there may be some disorientation when they eventually come on board.

    The civil servants may just get used to reporting directly to number one to the detriment of the appointees. This will mean that there may be so much bad blood that crucial tasks requiring urgent action may be jeopardised.

    One notable example is the ongoing attempt to probe the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). After the inauguration of the National Economic Council (NEC) last Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari set up a four-member committee to probe an alleged misappropriation of about N3.5 trillion by the NNPC and another N2 trillion from the Excess Crude Account (ECA).

    The panel comprises the governors of Edo (Adam Oshiomhole), Gombe (Ibrahim Dankwanbo), Kaduna (Nasir el-Rufai) and Akwa-Ibom, (Emmanuel Udom).

    NEC is a conclave of all the governors of the land and the president; it meets every month to deliberate on broad national issues. Now the matter of NNPC is crucial being Nigeria’s most strategic asset and again, being at the core of the unbridled corruption that ravaged the country in the last few years. Flashing a searchlight on this body is neither an ad-hoc affair nor a matter for busy governors.

    NNPC is Nigeria’s putrid honey pot. It requires a truly forensic audit of its affairs in the last five to 10 years. There is need to ascertain the true picture and completely revamp and upgrade its processes. There is need for even a forensic review of an earlier forensic audit by a certain accounting firm. NNPC is the heart and soul of the nation; it is an elaborate enigma, a jigsaw puzzle that would solve most of Nigeria’s problems if handled right.

    This is why Hardball is worried that after 30 days of the CHANGE administration and after all we know about this bastion of corruption, we can only come up with this kind of committee. If we mismanage the NNPC affair, it means that we are not gonna  get much else right. With this excited crowd of panelists to probe NNPC, the blood-suckers, like mother tick, would take one look and chuckle to themselves: “We thought these fellows were serious!”