The Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC) has declared victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Essien Udim local government area in the recent local government elections held on Saturday.
The announcement comes amid growing controversy over the election results.
AKISIEC Chairman Anyedi Ikoyiwaku has confirmed that APC’s Ntyedo Usoro has been selected as the Essien Udim candidate.
Notably, a prominent member of the APC, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, hails from this local government, which makes this victory even more significant for the party.
In contrast to AKISIEC’s declaration, a video circulating on social media features Inyang Ating, a professor at the University of Uyo who served as the Returning Officer (RO) for the Essien Udim election.
Ating reportedly announced in a video that Enobong Patrick of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the winner of the election, raising questions about the validity of the AKISIEC results.
“I hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the election held on October 5, 2024. The election was contested and the following candidates received the following votes: Ntiedo Usoro of APC: 686 Votes. Enobon Patrick Friday of Engineering PDP: 55,612 votes.
“Department of Engineering” Enobon Patrick Friday complied with the provisions of the law, received a majority of votes, and is hereby declared elected. He also received more than 25% of the votes in all 13 wards of Essien-Udim. I do so and hereby sign as a Returning Officer,” he said.
Reacting, Ikoyiwaku said Essien Udim’s RO in the election is Professor Uduaku Okon of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Uyo, and not Ating as claimed in the viral video.
Mr. Ikoyiwaku explained that he received a report from the Assistant Electoral Officer (AEO) that an electoral officer dispatched to the area had fled with the ballot paper sent to Essien Udim, and that he was able to conduct the election and obtain a result. He explained that he hurriedly sent AEO back with the materials needed to bring the matter. .
He claimed that Prof. Okon was Essien Udim’s RO in the election, and Prof. Okon announced that APC had 51,751 votes and PDP had 22,799 votes, and that Mr. Usoro was the LGA’s elected candidate. declared that he was a person.
“The man who claimed to be a returning officer from Essien Udim was not on the list of returning officers appointed to Saturday’s exercise, but the margin of victory for the PDP candidate seen in the video was too overwhelming. The victor could not be denied, and neither could his supporters.” Rebellion.
“When AKISIEC discovered what the polling workers had done in Essien-Udim, they rushed to somewhere in Ewet Housing and shot a video with drivers and unidentified people in the crowd, showing what they were presenting. misleading the public.
“By the time they brought the results, I was told that the Essien Udim results had already been submitted and I insisted that the results must be recorded on Form 08D and that it would be accepted by all local councils. “It was something that was given to me,” he said.
