Akpabio’s aide calls for credible local elections in Akwa Ibom

Saviour Enyiekere, deputy chief of staff to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has appealed to the election commission to be fair to all the political parties and candidates participating in Saturday’s local elections in Akwa Ibom State.

Mr Enyiekere, a member of the All Progressives Congress, also urged the Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC) to ensure the outcome of the election is fair and credible.

He made the appeal on Monday at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement with all the chairmanship candidates in the election.

The event was organised by the Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN) in collaboration with AKISIEC.

Speaking on the topic “Advancing free, fair and credible elections in Akwa Ibom State,” Mr Enyiekere identifies election commissions, media, political parties, security agents, judiciary, and civil society, among others, as stakeholders in the conduct of the election.

“If INEC and AKISIEC are the referees, the judiciary functions as the video assistant referee. Their significant role involves reviewing petitions arising from election results and ensuring that established rules are followed,” he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has governed Akwa Ibom since the return to democracy in 1999. The party has always secured victory in all the 31 local government areas and all the councillorship positions in previous local elections.

Mr Enyiekere told AKISIEC that a situation in which one party, the PDP, always wins in all the local government areas in the state does not speak well of the commission.

He expressed disappointment that none of the candidates from political parties participating in Saturday’s election attended the event.

Why the event was organised

Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Accountability Network, Franklyn Isong, said the group’s prayer was that the election be peaceful, fair, and credible so that the state would live up to its billing as one of the most peaceful in the country.

Mr Isong described local government as the “fundamental level of government”, the basis he said the event was organised to further deepen democracy at the grassroots and build confidence in the electoral process.

“The thrust of this event is to bring all stakeholders involved in the 5 October local government election under one roof to chart a course and peacefully commit towards a free, fair and credible 2024 local government election in Akwa Ibom State,” he said.

The representatives of the commissioner of police and the director of the State Security Services in Akwa Ibom promised adequate security for the election and appealed to politicians to play by the rules.

Others who spoke at the event, including Dora Ebong, the federal commissioner representing Akwa Ibom State in the Federal Character Commission, and Aniefiok Akpanobong, the paramount ruler of Etinan Local Government Area, urged AKISIEC to be fair to all political parties and candidates in the election.

Assurance from the Election Commission

Responding to the participants’ concerns, the Chairperson of AKISIEC, Aniedi Ikoiwak, said the election commission would judiciously follow the electoral law to ensure free and fair elections.

Mr Ikoiwak was represented at the event by Eyaekop Umanah, the electoral commissioner in charge of administration and supplies.

Mr Ikoiwak said a voters list has been pasted at all the polling units. He urged the 12 political parties participating in the election to go and campaign, stressing that political campaigns will end on 3 October.

He said the commission was using the voters’ register provided by INEC.

According to him, sensitive materials for the election were stored in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“On the announcement of results, it will be done at the polling units and then moved to ward level for collection of results and then at the local government, and the chairperson will emerge based on the results of the political parties that participated in the election.

“There is nothing that will be done at the AKISIEC (office). It is incumbent on us, the political stakeholders, to respond to that dynamic,” he said.