Senate President Godswill Akpabio has commended Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State for the recent local government elections despite ongoing controversy over the results.
Mr Akpabio‘s recognition was made during the plenary session on Thursday following the election held on Sunday.
The local government elections were particularly contentious in Essien-Udim Local Government Area, where Mr Akpabio hails from.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 30 of the 31 local government areas in the state, while All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Usoro Effiong won in Essien Udim.
However, the results have been contested by local politicians, including Michael Afangide, who is considered Essien Udim’s political leader.
Afangide and others claim that the PDP candidate was the real winner, raising questions about the integrity of the election.
In his remarks in the Senate, Mr. Akpabio declared Mr. Usoro Effiong the rightful winner of the election, stressing that he secured a majority of votes.
“But in a quiet moment, I would like to point out that the election was not perfect.The municipal election was not perfect.
“My colleagues are even grateful to the state government for standing firm, recognizing that the Senate President cannot lose votes, even in his own local government.
“And because of him, some governments even went ahead and announced what they like, saying he’s in the federal government and doing what they want to do in the federal government. But as he announced, my local government APC chairman just won the election. That is where this award comes from,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President said the declaration of the APC candidate as the winner of the local government meant that improvements could be expected in the electoral system in the state and the country at large.
“With people like Governor Eno, there is hope. The election was not perfect. I hope you understand that we are expected to have a national dialogue to change the situation.
“So I actually commend Governor Eno on that. My colleagues said this was a very unusual act on his part. And, Senator Abba Moro, you did this. “We started, we brought this up, and we got bipartisan support,” he said.
Mr Akpabio stressed the need to reposition the local government governance system.
“Right now, the world needs to know that the share in local government elections goes beyond political party lines, it’s not just limited to PDP states. I think that’s the conclusion of the Senate. It means we need to do something to reposition municipalities as third-tier governments.
“What we see here is that it was never actually a third tier government, so we applaud the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s ruling that local government funds should go directly to local governments.
“But we, the Congress, have to make a decision. We have to take the next steps to ensure that the decisions that the Supreme Court has given so far stand,” the Senate president said.
