As the Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district rerun election draws near, fresh facts emerged that there is a grand plan to stop the re-election of Senator Chris Ekpenyong.
Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom state, is Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator representing the senatorial district in the Senate, Igbere TV reports.
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio was All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the last year’s elections.
The Appeal Court in Calabar had ruled that Ekpenyong did not win in Essien Udim, Akpabio’s council area, and therefore ordered a rerun in that local government area in 90 days.
Ekpenyong had garnered 118,215 votes ahead of Akpabio, who polled 83,158 votes. The court argued that the affected area has over 126,000 registered voters, which is more than the margin of valid votes between the two candidates.
The presiding judge, while ordering the rerun, maintained that the 126,000 expected votes from Essien Udim would be enough to determine the actual winner of the election.
The appeal court also ordered for a rerun in Ikot Ekpene/Obot Akara/Essien Udim Federal Constituency following the upholding in part of the appeal brought before it by Akpan Sunday of APC against the election of Ekong Nsikak of PDP.
It also annulled the election of Nsikak, the PDP candidate.
Already, Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, had withdrawn from the race asking his party to nominate replacement. But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would not allow the ruling party to replace Akpabio as its candidate.
The electoral umpire argued that the substitution window allowed by the Electoral Act had since elapsed November last year, permanently shutting the APC’s chances in the rerun election.
Towards this end, a coalition of major opposition political parties and power brokers in the state have emerged to wrestle power from Ekpenyong.
According to competent sources, “the move was necessitated by the belief in certain quarters that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has nothing to offer the people of the state, particularly Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district.”
The power brokers are understood to have returned to the drawing board to re-strategise after Akpabio withdrew from the rerun election.
Some unnamed top businessmen in the country are said to be the major financiers of the fresh plot in Akwa Ibom North-West.
The voting strength of Essien Udim, Akpabio’s council area, is higher than the total votes of PDP’s Ekpenyong. At least 120,000 votes are expected from the affected area.
A source close to a member of the coalition informed Igbere TV that the group is seeking the blessing of Senator Akpabio, which will greatly brighten their chances in the race.
The source who pleaded anonymity for fear of being sanctioned, said much are expected in the couple of days as the plan unfolds.
Igbere TV reports that the Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial rerun election holds on January 25, 2020, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
