The Akwa Ibom Local Government Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the three senatorial districts has dismissed 13 petitions filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) concerning the conduct of local government elections held in October 2024.
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The tribunal affirmed the victory of 13 chairmanship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who were dragged before it.
The state legal adviser of the PDP, Ekemini Uba, disclosed this during a press conference in Uyo to mark the end of the tribunal session.
Uba said the tribunal struck out the petitions because they were not filed within the time frame stipulated by law.
“Pre-hearing notices were not filed within the time frame required by law.
“Again, the petitioners approached the tribunal based on the electoral law, contrary to Akwa Ibom State election petition laws.
“The petitioners were against our candidates for the chairmanship of Abak and Ibiono Ibom local government areas and for the councillorship in 11 of the 14 wards in Ibiono Ibom local government area, among others,” he said.
Uba explained that, as respondents, the PDP filed briefs in all the cases, challenging the competence of the petitioners before the tribunals and praying that their cases be dismissed.
Uba, who was accompanied by the PDP Publicity Secretary, Edwin Ebiese, said that after due consideration of all the cases, the tribunals in Akwa Ibom North-West (Ikot Ekpene) and Akwa Ibom North-East (Uyo) dismissed the APC petitions and reaffirmed the victories of PDP candidates in the 13 local government areas of the state.
“In upholding our submissions, the tribunal held that the petitions were incompetent, having been filed out of time,” he said.
Uba congratulated the leader of the PDP in the state, Pastor Umo Eno, for playing a vital role in the political stability of the state.
He appealed to politicians in the state to emulate Governor Umo Eno for demonstrating that elections and politics should not be a do-or-die affair.
“Though PDP was defeated in some areas, he never allowed us to contest those defeats at the tribunal.
“He believes that God gives power to whom He wishes and that there are always new opportunities to explore after elections.
“Pastor Umo Eno has reconciled many back to PDP in different ways. APC supporters benefit from Umo Eno’s compassionate home, and all members of the family and the entire community are now members of PDP,” he said.
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