President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has insisted that the sentenced professor Peter Ogban did not manipulate the results of the senatorial elections in his favor.
Akpabio through his former media assistant, Aniette Ekong, declared this in a statement.
Ogban was convicted of manipulating the results of Akwa Ibom Northwest in the 2019 general elections.
However, Ekong argued that the statement that the INEC of the INEC imprisoned, Professor Peter Ogban, was convicted of manipulating the elections in favor of the congress of all progressives (APC) is unfounded, spurious, malicious and destined to tarnish the image of the president of the Senate.
His statement said in part: “Then, in a statement like his principal press secretary, he declared so much while reacted to the statement of the Democratic Party of the Peoples (PDP), which Ogban was working to handle the elections in favor of AKPabio.
“To put the record in perspective, the Nigeria news agency (NAN) reported that Ogban, a professor of soil sciences at the University of Calabar was sentenced to three years in prison by a superior court of Akwa Ibom for electoral fraud.
“This was after being convicted of fraudulent manipulation of the electoral results of the senatorial district of the northwest of Akwa Ibom held on February 23, 2019.
“Akpabio, who was the APC candidate in the elections that sought re -election for the Senate, was rather a victim of fraudulent manipulation of the elections.
“In his despair in a continuous campaign of slander against Akpabio, they twisted the context of the trial and maliciously affirmed that the election was manipulated in his favor. Nothing could be further from the truth, the facts of the case gave a lie to this statement.
“On the contrary, Akpabio was a victim of fraudulent manipulation of the election of the Senatorial District of the Northwest of Akwa Ibom held on February 23, 2019. It is claimed that the perpetrators of electoral fraud are being taken before justice, finally the chickens are reaching home.
“Akpabio approached the Electoral Court of the National Assembly to challenge the result of the elections. In those elections, Akpabio's votes for a total of 61,329 scores in their local government area (LGA) – Essien UDIM, which was compiled, were not announced by Ogban in accordance with the provisions of the electoral law.
“Rather, Ogban, who served as a return officer of the Senatorial District, joined the electoral commissioner resident in Uyo, where Akpabio's votes and scores were canceled in several voting units and collection centers of several LGA that constitute the Akwa Ibom North-We service district.
“The Electoral Court of the National Assembly and the Court of Appeals invalidated the elections and a repetition was ordered in Essien Udim LGA.
“The Ogban sentence had claimed Akpabio and the APC that the elections were greatly manipulated. I wonder why Akpabio would challenge the result of the elections to the Court of Appeals that confirmed their appeal and ordered a repetition election if it were a beneficiary of the election.
“To avoid doubts, Ogban never announced Akpabio as the winner of any election, canceled his legal votes and announced his opponent as the winner of the manipulated elections.
“It is the height of the mischief that anyone says that a man who arbitrarily canceled legally compiled the votes of the APC and announced the winner of the PDP elections was working for Akpabio.
“It is obvious that some people are being persecuted by the ghost of the last elections that massively manipulated to reach a predetermined conclusion, a position confirmed by the Court of Appeals in Calabar.
“In due time, we believe that all conspirators will be taken before justice as Ogban, either through the Judiciary or divine intervention.”
He pointed out that “Akpabio since then had become the president of the Senate and that it would not be distracted with unfounded and unfounded reports of ax men and mischief of mischief.”