APC candidates seek cancellation of legislative polls in Akwa Ibom

The All Progressives Congress candidates who contested election into the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on April 11 have called for the cancellation of the polls.

The contestants, who made the call at a news conference in Uyo on Thursday, said the Independent National Electoral Commission had yet to announce the results of the polls since April 11.

A candidate from Nsit Atai State Constituency, John Harry, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, called for the removal of the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Austin Okojie.

Mr. Harry wondered why the release of the results had been delayed by INEC.

He added that since the Governorship and the State House of Assembly elections were conducted on the same day, their results were supposed to be released on the same day from different locations.

“Today is Thursday, April 16, 2015; good five days after the governorship and the state house of assembly elections of April 11 were conducted.

“The INEC in Akwa Ibom state has not announced the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly election results.

“We know that these results should have been announced at the local government collation centres on the night of the election or early the following day.

“We know that INEC has hurriedly manufactured the results for the governorship election just to satisfy the state governor.

“We note that the two elections were conducted simultaneously on the same day.

“So how can one result be released and the other withheld till now?

“Going by INEC Guidelines, the House of Assembly results were to be released at the local government collation centres while the governorship results would then be released at the state capital.

“The question then is why did INEC not release the 26 constituency results at the collation centres, and why have they not been released until now?”

Mr. Harry stated that as observed on April 11, there were indeed no elections in most polling units in the state.

He noted that many independent observers like those from European Union, the United States Embassy, the British High Commission and Civil Societies Organisation, monitored the election in the state.

INEC Independent Observation Team, among others, had released the reports of their Observation Visits to Akwa Ibom, which said the elections in Akwa Ibom were irredeemably flawed and should be cancelled.

He said, “Only yesterday, our National Assembly members, notably Senators Aloysius Etok; Ita Enang, and Helen Esuene also spoke with one voice.

“They urged Prof. Jega to do the right thing and cancel the abracadabra conducted by Mr Austin Okojie and his friends in PDP. We totally agree with them.

“We understand that since there were no elections in Akwa Ibom state the previous Saturday, the delay in releasing the House of Assembly results is because Okojie is facing serious problems.

“He is trying to manufacture the results.

“Okojie, in connivance with Akpabio and the PDP, had quickly concocted the governorship results, allocating over 90 per cent of the votes cast to the PDP,” he said.

(NAN)