PDP agent, Mr. Emmanuel Mbong admitted before the court he violated the electoral law |
By Ade
Adesomoju
Some members of
the Peoples Democratic Party, who served as the party’s agents during the April
11, 2015 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State, admitted signing multiple
result sheets while testifying before the state Governorship Election Petitions
Tribunal, sitting in Abuja on Monday.
Meanwhile, one
of the agents, Nicholas Andy, who served as the PDP agent in Ibiono-Ibom Local
Government Area, admitted that no agent of any political party, including that
of the PDP, signed the result sheets in three of the 11 wards of the local
government.
The agents were
testifying for Governor Udom Emmanuel of the PDP, whose election as governor
is being challenged before the tribunal by the All Progressives Congress and
its candidate in the poll, Umana Umana.
Andy, while
testifying on Monday denied the petitioners’ allegation that election only took
place in two out of the 161 polling units in Ibiono-Ibom Local Government Area.
He admitted
serving as the PDP agent for the local government and for Ikot Ikpo Ward 6
during the election.
When the
petitioners’ lawyer, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), asked him what the distance
between the local government and ward collation centre was, he said he could
not tell the distance in kilometres “but it is not far”.
He said PDP had
agents in all the wards in the local government.
But when the
petitioners’ lawyer confronted him with the list of the agents for the wards in
the local government, he admitted them as being the list of approved agents but
his name was not on the list.
He also
confirmed, when confronted with the result sheets, that no political
agent, including that of the PDP, signed the result sheets of three out of the
11 wards in the local government.
Also, one of
the PDP’s agents, Emmanuel Mbong, during the Monday’s proceedings admitted
signing the result sheet on behalf of the PDP at Eket Urban Ward 1 and Eket
Urban Ward 3 as well as for Eket Local Government Area.
Mbong said
though he was the agent approved by the Independent National Electoral
Commission for PDP in Eket Local Government Area and Eket Urban Ward 1, he had
to sign for the PDP in Eket Urban Ward 3, because the agent approved for
that ward needed to rush his wife to the hospital.
“The agent for
Ward 3, Chief Ekpe Udoh, called me on the telephone and when I was at the Local
Government Collation Centre that he was indisposed because his wife was
stooling, and throwing up; so he had to rush her to the hospital,” Mbong said.
Also
testifying, Obong Titus, who said collation of results took place in all the
polling units and wards and Etinan Local Government, confirmed that the PDP had
agents in all the 11 wards in the local government.
He confirmed
that the result sheets of Wards 1, 5 and 8 of Etinan LGA marked as Exibit DDD
1, 5 and 8 were signed by Prince Ibanga Udofia, when the petitioners’ counsel
confronted him with documents.
Emmanuel,
represented by Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), has so far called 19 witnesses. The
proceedings continue on Tuesday.
Culled from Punch newspaper
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