By Ikora Ayungbe, Uyo

A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former national publicity secretary, Senator Aniette Okon, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims that votes meant for Senator Godswill Akpabio and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the last president and National Assembly elections in the state were stolen was a slight on the people of the state.

Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, who represented President Buhari, Monday, during a ‘thank you’ visit to the APC supporters in the state assured that efforts would be made to recover the votes of Akpabio and other candidates stolen by the PDP in collusion with INEC in the state. He said, “it is impossible for Senator Godswill Akpabio to lose election in Akwa Ibom.”

But Okon described the President’s utterances as callous and a disrespect to the people of Akwa Ibom, stressing that, “he is ignorant of the current state of affairs in the politics of the state.”

He advised Professor Osinbajo to rather look for solutions to why his party lost elections in his Ward. “When did he know that there was a stolen mandate here. The stolen mandate is in Sokoto, Bornu, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano and Katsina. Let him go there and show preachment rather than to come here and desecrate the temple of truth by claiming that there was a stolen mandate. It shows complete disrespect to the values of the people of Akwa Ibom state.

“If he has nothing to say he should keep quiet and stop raising the tempers of decent people. He cannot call himself a pastor and a professor of law and there are desecrations and breaches of the basic principles of common conduct.

“When we are talking of the country burning, he is busy parading and pretending as if he is an expert in anything. Rather than talk of protecting the interest of those who have been murdered or those who have suffered carnage in Benue he said we should return to prayers. What prayer is Osinbajo truly capable of.

“They are talking about threats and destruction, but, even on that day of election, an INEC official had the gut to say that there was a bomb blast and after two hours the people came out to vote. Were these people animals or skeletons because we have the evidence that there was no such massive turnout anywhere.

On the fact that it was impossible for Akpabio to lose elections in Akwa Ibom, Okon said the former governor had “lost his glamour and charisma since he joined APC in his desperate attempt to be protected from his numerous sins”

“Is Akpabio better than Saraki that lost elections and he left peacefully and heaven has not fallen? That somebody lost 8 out of 10 local governments and is still talking about stolen votes is ridiculous.

“The number of accredited voters in the card reader were 14,641. Out of that you claim to have 105, 000 votes. Are you a magician? Less than 15000 people were accredited and you say people that voted were over 100,000. I mean it is shameful and a monumental fraud in embrace of APC

“Oshiomhole is from Edo state and the sitting governor is APC, yet PDP won in the state, so why is he not questioning the outcome of the election. The only thing is that Akpabio has been elevated higher than his competence.

“The vice president and the leaders of APC, in an effort to massage the ego of Akpabio, should know the dangers it means to us because they are encouraging breakdown of law and order. All I know is that the fate of Akwa Ibom state will be determined by the Akwa Ibom people”, he said.

“I have in good authority that the vice president arrived here with three national directors of INEC and supposed to be deployed to police the REC. We are not worried about that so far as the policing will not mean influencing wrongly or clamping down on the will of the people as expressed in their votes. They are welcome.

“But the desperation shown and displayed in the last few days by the APC over the election in Akwa Ibom state tells us a lot. It shows that they are only interested in our resources and we will bring an end to this,” he said.

In renewed calls for the redeployment of the State resident electoral commissioner Barr Mike Igini, Okon said the PDP was not afraid of a new REC and would accept anyone sent provided the person would not bend the rules.

“Igini has been resolute and disciplined in protecting the electoral guidelines and people like him should be made the chairman of INEC but we will accept any new REC provided the person is coming on a mission of counting the votes that have been properly cast by the people. So, we don’t care who the REC is provided you are doing what is right.

“But if it is the one that will come with an already written result then the person should write his will before he comes.”

Source:- Orientaldailynews

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