ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The fight over the authentic Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Akwa Ibom North West has been won and lost as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), releases list of candidates.
In compliance with a court order, INEC listed Senator Godswil Akpabio as the APC authentic candidate.
It was a smooth sail for a former Deputy Inspector General of Police, Udom Ekpoudom, until the immediate past minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Akpabio, came into the picture, Daily Post reports.
Ekpoudom had in a primary election held on 22 May, clinched the Senatorial District ticket of the APC in the exercise which was conducted across the 108 wards in the 10 Local Government Areas of the State.
The primary was cancelled after all, and a rerun conducted at the Skill Acquisition Centre, Ikot Ekpene, where Akpabio polled 478 votes to defeat other contestants who were absent in the exercise, except Ekperikpo Ekpo, who had earlier announced his wish to surrender his ticket to Akpabio whom he described as his ‘father.’
The party Chairman, Mr. Ntukepo, who earlier explained that the National Working Committee of the party ordered a rerun due to infractions in the 28 May exercise, introduced Sir Sylvester Okonkwo as Chairman of the Committee for the Senatorial primaries, Mrs. Bunmi Moleye as returning Officer and Chief Sunday Ewoleye – Chairman, APC Primaries Appeal Committee.
This was when Ex-DIG Ekpoudom’s nightmare began as the party submitted Akpabio’s name to INEC as the Senatorial candidate of Akwa Ibom North West.
The then INEC chairman, Mike Igini, did not recognize the election that resulted in the candidacy of Akpabio, rather he agreed with the one monitored by INEC officials and the police at Sheer Grace Arena, where Ekpoudom emerged.
Igini queried the validity of the rerun as the first primary witnessed by INEC officials did not record any form of infractions, saying any primary not monitored by the INEC was invalid.
Similar to Igini’s submission was that of the former Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Ita Enang who suffered the same fate.
Enang was one of the gubernatorial aspirants but lost out in the midnight elections conducted at the party’s secretariat.
In a petition to the national leadership of the party to annul the primaries conducted by Ntukepo-led administration, Enang, citing section 84(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 as amended, noted that nomination congresses must be monitored by the INEC.
He insisted that the INEC did not monitor the congresses that produced the candidates in Ntukepo-led executive, adding that in accordance with sections 84 (5)(c) of the Electoral Act as amended, the aspirant who emerged from the INEC monitored primaries shall be the candidate of the party.
However, Ntukepo’s exco in the State stood its ground and fielding the names of its candidates to the INEC. In the midst of the whole drama, Ekpoudom dragged Akpabio to court challenging his declaration.
The Federal High Court presided by Justice Emeka Nwite, in Abuja, on 15 September, 2022, dismissed the lawsuit against the INEC and the APC for lacking in merit.
This was followed by a similar one delivered by Justice Donatus Okorowo on 23 September, 2022.
The courts held that the primaries, which produced Ekpoudom and on which he relied on to actualize his ambition, was not a valid primary of the APC, that is to say that Akpabio remains the candidate of the party.
Consequently, the INEC, in a list published on 20 September, enlisted Akpabio as the Senatorial candidate of the party in Akwa Ibom North West.
Meanwhile, Ekpoudom, not satisfied with the unfolding events, vowed to appeal the judgement.
In a statement by the Director-General of Ekpoudom campaign organization, Hon Uwem Udoma entitled “Judgement on Akwa Ibom North West APC Senatorial ticket: Our Position” issued to journalists in Uyo, the ex-DIG said he would use all constitutional means to retrieve the mandate which “was earlier given to him by his people during the primary.”
He said: “In accordance with the law, we have instructed our legal team to promptly appeal both Justice Emeka Nwite’s judgement (FHC/ABJ/CS/1011/2022) of September 15, 2022, and Justice Donatus Okorowo’s judgement (FHC/ABJ/CS/1000/2022) of September 23, 2022.”