Headlines
I Remain Senator Despite Appeal Court Judgement, Says Ekpenyong
Chris Ekpenyong, the man who truncated former governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio’s ambition of returning to the Senate for a second term, has vowed to continue with legislative duties, despite a judgement by the Court of Appeal nullifying his election.
The Court of Appeal, Calabar, on Saturday, nullified Mr Ekpenyong’s election as the senator representing Akwa Ibom North West District.
It ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a rerun in one local government area – Essien Udim Local Government Area – within 90 days.
“Today, the Court of Appeal in Calabar nullified my election results in only Essien Udim LGA and order for a rerun within 90 days. I still remain the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District with my certificate of return issued to me by INEC,” Mr Ekpenyong said in a statement on Saturday.
“I will still be going about my routine statutory legislative duties as your senator while preparing for the re-run in Essien Udim.
“There is nothing to worry about because we will still come out victorious in the rerun. I urge everyone to remain calm and courageous in supporting the mandate given to me at the poll,” he said.
INEC has also reacted to the court judgement, saying they have been vindicated by it.
“The Court re-affirmed as valid and preserved the elections as declared by the Commission in 9 out of the 10 LGAs that make up Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District. It, however, ordered a rerun of the Senatorial election within 90 days in Essien Udim LGA ONLY, where the Commission had decried the massive rigging and manipulations that culminated in the dubious award of 61,329 votes to Senator Akpabio alone in the LGA, intended to upturn the results of the other 9 LGAs,” the INEC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom state, Don Etukudo, said in a statement.
INEC also said thugs loyal to Mr Akapbio were on “rampage” in Essien Udim on Election Day.
“They snatched and stuffed ballot boxes, foreclosed the use of SCRs, brutalised INEC ad hoc personnel and prevented voters from exercising their franchise.
“The brigandage got to a climax when Senator Akpabio personally led the thugs to overrun INEC office in the LGA. Staff were held hostage for hours, TVC Television news crew and even foreign observers were assaulted while they fretfully doctored election results,” the election commission said.
INEC said details of the rerun would be announced later.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party had welcomed the judgement of the court which the party said has “proven that widespread irregularities occurred in Essien Udim Local Government Area”.
“We are preparing for the election. And we are expecting Senator Akpabio’s resignation (as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs) so that he can come for the election,” Ini Emembong, the PDP spokesperson in Akwa Ibom state, said.
Mr Akpabio was a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, while Mr Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, was the PDP flag bearer.
Premium Times
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
