Joe Effiong, Uyo
All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Akwa Ibom State, Nsima Ekere, yesterday refuted his earlier claim that he won the governorship election and told the governorship elections petitions tribunal in Uyo that the election should be nullified.
Testifying as principal witness (PW46) in his petition against Governor Udom Emmanuel’s re-election, Ekere told the tribunal that he could no longer stand by his written deposition and now wants the entire election nullified.
Similarly, his running mate, Amadu Attai, said the ballot papers his party obtained from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as exhibits in the case are no longer useful and would no longer be tendered before the tribunal.
Attai, PW47, in reference to paragraph 32(6) confessed that he had no evidence to authenticate his claims that voter’s cards of other people were used by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members for multiple voting; neither could he present any data to back his card reader report in his paragraph 33.
On his part, Ekere, during cross examination by 2nd respondents’ counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), dismissed his earlier claims that he won in some local government areas in the state, including Essien Udim and Etim Ekpo during the March 9 governorship election.
When confronted with his earlier deposition and the evidence by the Essien Udim Divisional Police Officer, Samuel Isiek, that election in Essien Udim was free, fair and credible, he admitted that even his tendered result showed he won in Essien Udim, he wants the election also canceled.
“My plea is for full nullification of the entire election, including Essien Udim, because by the time we went through documents provided by INEC we discovered that election was not conducted according to the provisions of the electoral law,” he said.
Referring the petitioner to paragraph 15 Sub 11 of his statement, Oyetibo asked if accreditation took place in the areas that he allegedly won, Ekere replied that he was no longer in support of his previous statement about winning in those areas.
“My lord, I have abandoned the areas I won,” he said.
When confronted with his statement on oath in paragraphs 15(18) where he claimed to have figures of accredited voters for the March 9 election, Ekere confirmed that he got it from INEC sever but failed to provide the data source before the tribunal.
The APC governorship candidate, who had alleged in paragraph 44 of his deposition that INEC recruited PDP members as electoral officers, also failed to provide the list of PDP members who he claimed were recruited by INEC as assistant polling officers, supervisor polling officers and returning officers for the election.