Akpabio Testifies In Tribunal as His Brother 'Summersaults'

Senator Godswill Akpabio yesterday (Tuesday) testified at the ongoing National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal against the victory of Senator Chris Ekpenyong, Igbere TV reports.

Akpabio, the petitioner, after presenting 14 witnesses so far, is mandated to mount the dock and convince the tribunal on why the victory of Dr Ekpenyong should be upturned in his favour.

 On Monday, his cousin Ibanga Akpabio who claimed to be the All Progressives Congress agent for the Senatorial District told the tribunal that he cannot recount the Local Government Areas his party won.

Ibanga Akpabio under cross examination by Counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party, Solomon Umoh SAN, was asked as Senatorial Agent, to mentioned the Local Government Areas that his party won in his senatorial district. 

“Ikot Ekpene and some others that I do not know”, Akpabio, who is also a lawyer answered

“I put it to you that you lost in all Local Government Areas”, Umoh added

Counsel to Independent National Electoral Commission, Robert Emukpoeruo told the tribunal that the APC members unleashed violence on INEC adhoc staff, abducted and coerced them into writing results in favour of APC.

Ibanga Akpabio who denied this statement was however drawn to paragraph 11 of his witness statement, where he noted that “…an INEC staff escaped with a phone call and never came back”.

The INEC Counsel told the tribunal that,3″To confirm in paragraph 11 of your witness statement that INEC officials were abducted, you said that at final point of collation, he received a phone call and escaped. I put it to you that one can only escape from abduction”, Emukpoeruo submitted 

The witness agreed with INEC, that accreditation in an election can only be done with voters’ registers and/or card readers.

“On the result sheet, column for accreditation has to be collated from card readers and voters’ registers. Do you agree? Counsel asked 

‘yes’ Akpabio replied 

‘Is there any other source where this information can be obtained?’ Counsel asked 

‘No’ Akpabio replied

‘where polling unit results contained in a result is not obtainable from number of accredited voters on smart card readers and voters’ registers, the result is invalid. Do you agree?’ Emukpoeruo asked 

“Yes” Akpabio replied

‘I put it to you that 7 out of 11 wards of Essien Udim LGA, there is no record of accreditation’. Emukpoeruo added

Despite argument from Sunday Ameh, Counsel to Senator Godswill Akpabio, INEC  presented  polling unit results, where witness agreed that results of Ukana West 1, 2 and IKpe Annang were non existent.

‘From INEC forms P420-P530, I put it to you that there are no polling unit results for Ukana West 1, Ukana west 2 and Ikpe Annang’ Emukpoeruo said

‘They are not here. We asked our lawyer to apply to INEC but it is like we have not gotten them’ Akpabio defended

‘My Lord, the witness should be given time to look at the documents’ Ameh

“If the witness agrees that they are not there, there is no point wasting our time”, the Tribunal Chairman reasoned

Akpabio after examining the documents agreed that there were no results for Ukana West 1, Ukana West 2 and Ikpe Annang. 

Emukpoeruo, who brought the voters registers P489-508 and results sheets P544  for Okon Ward argued with Ibanga Akpabio, “that all results you have on P544 are enteries that do not reflect P489-P508”, Emukpoeruo said

‘It is faint and I cannot see’” Ibanga Akpabio, former State Deputy Chairman of PDP stated.

“I put it to you that if you add all those results, your party is still the loser”, Emukpoeruo submitted.