A former aide to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has dismissed claims that convicted Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official, Prof. Peter Ogban, rigged the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial election in Akpabio’s favour.
In a statement issued to journalists yesterday in Abuja, Mr. Anietie Ekong, who served as Chief Press Secretary to Akpabio during his tenure as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, described the allegations as false, malicious, and part of an ongoing attempt to tarnish the Senate President’s image.
“For the umpteenth time, the claim that Prof. Ogban was convicted for rigging in favour of Akpabio is unfounded and mischievous,” Ekong stated. “On the contrary, Akpabio was the victim of electoral fraud.”
Citing reports by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ekong noted that Prof. Ogban, a professor of Soil Science at the University of Calabar, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment by an Akwa Ibom High Court for manipulating election results during the 2019 senatorial elections.
He emphasised that the manipulated results were against Akpabio—not in his favour—highlighting that 61,329 votes from Akpabio’s stronghold, Essien Udim Local Government Area, were collated but never announced.
“Ogban, who served as the returning officer for the senatorial district, joined the Resident Electoral Commissioner in cancelling Akpabio’s votes across various polling units and collation centres,” Ekong remarked. “It is ironic and misleading to suggest that someone who suppressed Akpabio’s votes was working for him.”
He further clarified that both the National Assembly Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal invalidated the 2019 election and ordered a rerun in Essien Udim LGA—vindicating Akpabio’s claims of electoral malpractice.
Ekong added that if Akpabio had been a beneficiary of the fraud, he would not have pursued legal redress up to the Court of Appeal, which ultimately ordered the rerun.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Prof. Ogban never declared Akpabio the winner of any election. Instead, he unlawfully cancelled his votes and declared the PDP candidate the winner,” he maintained.
Ekong accused Akpabio’s political opponents of sustaining a campaign of calumny rooted in their own loss of credibility, asserting that Ogban’s conviction is proof that justice is being served.
“Senator Akpabio has since moved on and remains focused on his responsibilities as Senate President. These baseless allegations will not distract him from his commitment to national service,” he said.
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