Confusion set in Akwa Ibom state as the State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC) announced conflicting results in the just-concluded local government election held on Saturday, October 5.
Tension escalated in the state regarding the chairmanship seat in the Essien Udim local government area, the constituency of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Inyang Ating, a professor from the University of Uyo who served as the returning officer for Essien Udim LGA, had declared Enobong Patrick Friday of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election in the area.
In a surprising twist, statewide results released on Sunday, October 6, by Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, the chairman of AKISIEC, declared Ntiedo Usoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the elected candidate for Essien Udim LGA.
While the AKISIEC results did not disclose the specific vote counts for each candidate, Ating said PDP’s Friday scored a total of 55,612 votes, while Usoro Ntiedo of the APC got 686 votes.
After Inyang Ating announced the election result, AKISIEC published Ntiedoâs name as the winner of the poll despite PDP candidate Friday’s victory.
The state electoral commission did not explain why Ntiedo was declared was the winner â contradicting the results announced by the returning officer.
The Cable confirmed the report in its publication on Monday, October 7.
Earlier, TimesNow.com.ng reported that the PDP won 30 out of 31 local government councils in Akwa Ibom state during the October 6 elections.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed his dissatisfaction with the PDP’s overwhelming win.
Akpabio highlighted a past instance where he allowed the opposition to win in Ini LGA during his governorship.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
