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INEC, election riggers and twisted narratives

Published

1 year ago

May 14, 2025

Whirlwindnews

By Anietie Ekong

Lately, there has been an upsurge of politically motivated and unwarranted attacks on the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio using several guises camouflaged as serving public interest. The article by Mr Segun Adeniyi on the backpage of THISDAY, Thursday, May 8, 2025 is one of such attempts to rewrite our recent political history using distorted narratives related to the 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.

In the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Dr Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of one of the most controversial elections in recent times. The courts later upturned the election, convicted the returning officer, Prof Peter Ogban for not upholding the integrity of the electoral process. No sooner had the verdict been handed down than the opposition went to town with the illogical narrative that the Professor rigged the election for Akpabio, the man who was announced by the same returning officer as the loser of the election!

It could be a curious coincidence or coordinated follow-up that Mr Adeniyi’s article came few days after their sister medium, ARISE NEWS hosted Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre who claimed to represent 60 other civil society organizations which on the basis of this twisted logic and an election conducted in 2019 outrageously claimed “Akpabio is the beneficiary of electoral fraud” (an election the umpire claimed he lost and never returned to the Senate) and on the basis of this narrative called on him to step down as Senate President.

Hear Mr Rafsanjani on ARISE NEWS: “There is no way the Professor involved in committing electoral fraud in 2019 in favour of Akpabio will go to jail while he sits comfortably enjoying.” Mr Adeniyi also toe this line: “The professor of Soil Science at the University of Calabar was the returning officer in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North West senatorial election, which he attempted to rig in favour of the man who is now our Senate President: Godswill Akpabio.” This is mischief taken too far.

Firstly, Akpabio did not win the 2019 senatorial election. INEC declared Dr Chris Ekpenyong of the PDP the winner, not Senator Akpabio. How does a person who lost become the “beneficiary” of a rigged election? For the umpteenth time, Senator Akpabio did not return to the Senate in 2019 because he lost the election or so INEC claimed. The call for Senator Akpabio to step aside on the grounds that he allegedly benefitted from a 2019 rigged election is not only baseless, it is absurd and a manifestation of intellectual dishonesty by those who continue to peddle such.

It is surprising how Mr Adeniyi celebrates illegality perpetrated by INEC. “However, before that declaration at the INEC state office in Uyo by Ogban, there had been some unsavoury developments at the Ikot Ekpene senatorial collation centre that led to the intervention of the then Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr Mike Igini.” INEC acted illegally by hijacking the collated results from Ikot Ekpene to Uyo where the votes were severely mutilated to achieve a predetermined goal by a supposed umpire who was quoted severally to have said that “under my watch Akpabio cannot win any election in Akwa Ibom State.”

The assertion by Adeniyi quoting an INEC staff that “Thugs had gone on the rampage in most parts of the LGA as soon as the polls were open. They snatched and stuffed ballot boxes, foreclosed the use of Smart Card Readers, brutalised INEC ad hoc personnel and prevented voters from exercising their franchise,” sounds very familiar. At the Election Petition Tribunal INEC brought many of their adhoc staff whom they had coached to claim that elections were disrupted in Essien Udim Local Government Area by thugs purportedly hired by Akpabio.

The witnesses at the Tribunal were more dramatic. They painted pictures how thugs invaded polling units in the Local Government Area, shot at everyone, hijacked electoral officers and materials and took them to unknown locations where figures were arbitrarily allocated to Akpabio. However, the lead Counsel to Akpabio, S. I. Ameh, SAN asked the INEC witnesses, did the so-called thugs in anyway realize that what they did was wrong and later brought back the personnel and materials for the election to be conducted to which they answered that there was nothing of the sort. However, the card reader reports produced by the same INEC tendered by Ameh showed that elections were actually held and captured the biometrics of the voters. These are the votes that were unilaterally cancelled by Mr Mike Igini under the spurious claim that thugs did not allow elections to be held in Essien Udim.

It is worth noting that the Election Tribunal which Akpabio challenged the election had a split judgement. The minority judgement by Justice Sheriff Hafizu has remained a huge moral burden on INEC and those who claimed the election was rigged in favour of Akpabio.

As reported by THE PUNCH newspaper of September 12, 2019, with the headline: “Tribunal robbed Senator Akpabio of victory – Justice Hafizu” the report said: “The Minority Judge also submitted that the Witnesses of the Respondents were unreliable as they gave contradictory evidence during trial. He cited cases of witnesses who had alleged that they were abducted by APC thugs and forced to thumb-print for the party only for card reader reports to put a lie to such claims, a contention that the majority judgement glossed over.

“According to Justice Hafizu, INEC was wrong to have cancelled the 61,329 votes by APC in Essien Udim Local Government Area against PDP score of 9,050 votes. He said the unlawful cancellation of the votes was a clear case of robbery since it did not follow the due process of INEC guidelines.” The Judges at the Appeal Court were equally so peeved by the cancellation of collated votes of Akpabio by Igini that they annuled the Tribunal judgement and ordered a rerun election by which time Akpabio had assumed duties as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and declined to participate in the Appeal Court ordered rerun election.

Fast forward to 2023. Akpabio contested against a legal luminary, Emmanuel Enoidem, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the immediate past National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP.) By this time the Principality at INEC who had vowed that Akpabio can never win any election in Akwa Ibom State had left the stage. The senatorial election was so overwhelmingly won by Akpabio that his opponent, so well versed in law, never bothered to challenge it at the Tribunal. To Akwa Ibom people, it was laughable that anybody would think that Akpabio would rig any election moreso in his Local Government Area where he has remained a hero because of the development he had brought to the area.

It is confounding that the people championing the Akpabio-must-step-down campaign because he was a “beneficiary of rigging” cannot distinguish between the charade of 2019 and the election of 2023. Attempting to link this legitimate victory with the unrelated 2019 election saga is both laughable and intellectually dishonest. The election of 2023 which had no legal challenge is the mandate upon which Akpabio currently serves as the President of the Senate.

A thorough reading of the judgment that convicted Prof. Ogban, as well as the Court of Appeal decision, makes it abundantly clear that Senator Godswill Akpabio was not mentioned, indicted, or found to have benefitted from Prof. Ogban’s unethical actions. If anything, Akpabio was a victim of rigging by the same institution which was supposed to be an unbiased umpire.

*Ekong is Special Assistant (Media/Communication) to the President of the Senate.

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ADC spits fire! Demands arrest of Lifu *Says, Abuja judge, playing with fire!

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2026

Whirlwindnews

“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.

A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.

Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.

Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement

“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.

“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”

Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.

He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.

“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”

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Deregistration of ADC: Don’t destroy democracy, Obi warns judiciary

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), in the 2027 presidential election, is peeved at the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordering the de-registration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying the move is a heavy blow and dangerous to Nigeria’s democracy.

Justice Peter Lifu, who made the order, based on an action brought by National Forum of Former Legislators, agreed that the parties, including Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), failed to meet the requirement for continued existence in Nigeria.

But Obi, who left the ADC coalition to join the NDC, incidentally, based on what he explained resulted from the multiple court cases hanging on its neck, expressed his disenchantment, in a statement by the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), on Monday.

Signed by Ibrahim Umar, its spokesman, the group quoted the former Governor of Anambra State as decrying the growing damage to the nation’s sacred institutions on the altar of politics.

Stressing that the rise of nations depended on stronger institutions devoid of political influences, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, wrote on his X platform: “When the controversy surrounding the removal of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, unfolded, I expressed a concern to a friend: that the greatest damage might not be immediate, but the message it sends about the sanctity and independence of our institutions to the world.

“Strong economies are built on trust. Investors can manage security risks, policy risks, and even market risks. What they fear most is uncertainty in the rule of law and a judiciary that is perceived to be vulnerable to political pressure.

“Today, many Nigerians have lost confidence in systems that should protect them. Businesses increasingly request that their contracts be governed by foreign jurisdictions because they have greater confidence in those institutions than in our own. That should concern every patriot.

“We must never sacrifice our sacred institutions on the altar of politics. Nations rise when institutions are stronger than individuals. The Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the ADC and other political parties is just one of those activities that further reduces the common man’s trust in our legal systems. It should be reversed.

“I pledge that we will restore the dignity, independence, and integrity of the judiciary. The common man must have a voice. The business community must be protected from legal uncertainty and intimidation. Justice must be impartial, accessible, and respected by all. To our judges, legal luminaries, senior advocates, and lawyers: this is your moment. Rise, defend the rule of law, take back your country! A new Nigeria is POssible.”

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Cape Verde stuns global pundits with barren draw against Spain

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Not even Lamine Yamal’s second half introduction could help Spain break through the defence of debutants, Cape Verde, in their first ever meeting, as the ongoing World Cup event produced another one of the stunning results on Monday.

Yamal, the Barcelona superstar just recovering from a near two-month hamstring injury, was brought into the game in the second half to zest up the one-time world champion, but failed to break down the Cape Verde’s dogged defence.

Spain’s in the game played in Atlanta, one of the cities hosting the three-nation Mundial, displayed the same dismal outing, which saw them offering far less than the quality, which saw them lifting the trophy for the first time in 2010.

The European champions, which have not won a knockout game ever since, failed to dominate the African side, replicating their less than impressing outings and their eventual exit in 2018 and 2022 editions, even with the claims of coach Luis de la Fuente that the squad was the best in the competition, Spain were considered among the pre-tournament.

Neither Yamal nor Nico Williams, who also was hit by an injury-disrupted season at Athletic Bilbao and was not introduced until the 87th minute, were able to rise to the occasion against the 500,000 people African side, ranked 67 in the world, which is making their debut on the global stage.

In stark contrast to the searing temperatures faced by some other sides, Atlanta’s state-of-the-art air conditioned stadium meant there was no excuses for the slow tempo of Spain’s build-up.

Indeed the mid-half hydration break was met by boos with fans frustrated at the break in play despite the cool conditions.

The only serious move from the European champions only came at the sixth minute to half-time, when Marc Cucurella, fresh for sealing his move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, sent over a teasing cross that Ferran Torres turned onto the crossbar and Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha got back on his feet to turn Mikel Oyarzabal’s looping header over the bar.

Even after the break, the Blue Sharks, were also able to hold back from the onslaught as they did in the first half, where Vozinho, managed to make another superlative save against Aymeric Laporte’s header just before half-time.

Despite the excitement from the crowd after he was introduced, Yamal, billed as one of the stars of the tournament, failed to create any magic with his first touch being the set-up of a decent opening for fellow substitute Mikel Merino which was too close to Vozinha.

In fact, Cabo Verde billed to take on Uruguay in Miami, nearly snatched a famous victory in the final minute of the 90 when Dani Borges planted a header too close to Unai Simon, who saved the occasion, to prevent the former world champions, billed to face Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on Sunday from humiliation.

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