Akwa Ibom Senatorial Rerun: Anxiety over Akpabio, Ekpenyong’s Fate
POLITICS DIGEST – The Court of Appeal ruling in Calabar, penultimate Saturday, which ordered re-run poll in Essien Udim local government area within 90 days in respect of the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial seat, has dominated discussions in Akwa Ibom polity.
Arising from the discussions are arguments, allegations, renewed bickering and varied interpretations of the judgement by leaders, stakeholders, and supporters of the two rival political parties involved in the legal battle – the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Senator Godswill Akpabio, the current Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, ran on the plank of the APC while Senator Chris Ekpenyong contested on the banner of the PDP.
Ekpenyong was returned as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, a decision Akpabio kicked against leading to the court of appeal ruling ordering repeat poll in Essien Udim, one of the 10 LGAs of the zone to determine the winner.
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Currently, Ekpenyong has 114,973 votes from the remaining nine LGAs while Akpabio has 76,917 votes. There are 95,987 voters with Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, in Essien Udim LGA, where Akpabio hails from.
Akpabio’s chances Depending on voters turnout, Akpabio has the chance of cancelling out Ekpenyong’s 38,056 voters lead and winning the overall election.
This is one of the reasons the yet to be fixed supplementary poll is raising dust in Akwa Ibom. However, part of the argument in the camp of the PDP is that even if Akpabio of the APC decides to go for the rerun it will be impracticable and impossible for him to win.
Their argument stems from their belief that during the general elections, the total number of eligible voters in Essien Udim that collected their PVCs was 95, 987, and out of the number only 19,455 were accredited for the actual election.
Some chieftains of the party argued further that the situation may worsen during the rerun, because in actual election situation, it is difficult to have up to 75 percent voters’ turnout, which explains the wide gap between 19,455 accredited voters and the 95,987 that collected their PVCs in Essien Udim.
