The Election Transparency Group (ETG) has called for the arrest andprosecution of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator GodswillAkpabio, over his involvement in falsification of results of the AkwaIbom northwest senatorial election in 2019.
A High Court in Akwa Ibom State had sentenced Peter Ogban, a professorof soil science at the University of Calabar, to three years in prisonfor manipulation the election results.
Ogban was the returning officer in the Akwa Ibom North West senatorialelection in 2019. He was prosecuted by the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC) and found guilty of altering results ofthe election to favour Senator Akpabio who was the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) candidate against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)candidate, Senator Chris Ekpeyong.
ETG, in a release issued on Saturday and signed by its Convener, Dr.Kazeem Adekunle, asked how the INEC returning officer will be jailedwhile the person for whom he committed the electoral fraud is aminister.
The group said it is on record that Akpabio was the mastermind of thecriminal act for which Prof Ogban was jailed. He (Akpabio) was thebeneficiary of the fake over 61,000 votes recorded for APC in EssienUdim Local Government where 19, 455 voters were accredited.
It is our opinion that it is hypocrically on the side of INEC for thecommission to have prosecuted only Prof Ogban, leaving SenatorAkpabio, who was the mastermind and beneficiary of the electoral frauduntouched.
That the same Akpabio is even occupying the exalted office of aMinister and member of the Federal Executive Council is an insult onthe collective sensibility of Nigerians.
It is also another clear confirmation of the deceit in PresidentMuhammadu Buhari’s to fight against corruption.
We therefore demand that Senator Godswill Akpabio be arrested and madeto face trial for being the sponsor of the criminal act on which theexecutioner, Prof Ogban has been jailed.