Akpabio to contest for senate again as appeal court orders rerun

The court of appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River state, has ordered a rerun election in Akwa Ibom north-west senatorial district where Godswill Akpabio took on Chris Ekpeyong, a former deputy governor of the state, in February.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ekpeyong, who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of the election but Akapbio filed a petition against his victory at the tribunal.

He had asked the tribunal to set aside Ekpenyong’s election, alleging that it was marred by irregularities.

But describing the petition as “lacking in merit”, the tribunal said the petitioner failed to prove that he won the election as well as failed to present convincing evidence of non-compliance with electoral act as raised in his petition.

Dissatisfied with the verdict of the tribunal, he headed to the appellate court.

In its ruling on Saturday, the court ordered a rerun election in Essien Udim local government, where Akpabio hails from.

The court ruled that the rerun should hold within 90 days.

Akpabio, a two-term governor of Akwa Ibom, is the now minister of Niger Delta affairs.

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