Governor Akpabio casting his "vote"
Meanwhile, Mr. Akpabio has declared himself winner of the contest by a whopping 91%, a figure similar to what was awarded Goodluck Jonathan in the state during last week’s controversial presidential election.
In the run-up to the governorship contest, Governor Akpabio had embarked on various extra-legal measures to try to frustrate the opposition, especially the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and had even tried to throw its candidate John Akpanudoede, into jail until the “election” was over. As yesterday’s brazen rigging unfolded, Mr. Akpanudoede told Reuters reporter, Nick Tattersal, "This is not an election, this is not the voice of the people, it doesn't represent anything other than criminality."
Naija News Desk had for weeks detailed the abuses and planned electoral fraud by the state governor, and yesterday featured violence against youth corpers and ballot snatching across the state. In addition, massive thumb printing of ballot papers started a day before the election in several areas of the state. Writing in 234NEXT newspaper, a voter said that a commissioner in Akpabio’s government hijacked the ballot box right in front of voters after he had voted in his unit in Ibiono Ibom LGA and took it away with his thugs. “Am so amazed in what I have seen today,” he wrote, “Is this the free and fair election we wanted?”
Another voter, Akpan Asunwa, wrote in the newspaper: “The entire process in (Akwa Ibom) was marred by ballot box snatching, murder and thuggery. If we allow that to stand, then the indigenes will lose faith in elections. INEC, please, cancel that election.”
One of the text messages between the election observers said as follows: “Inform ur group that right now in Ikot Abasi LGA after collation won by ACN at INEC offices, the electoral officers together with all d INEC officers have moved to Mr. Nsima EKere's house in Ikot uboyin Edemeya. They are mutilating result there this 10pm in Nsima Ekere's house. Mr. Nsima Ekere is d running mate to Akpabio. “
The writer said that a driver and a Personal Assistant to one of the participants had confided the information to him.
In a call-in show which blacked out parts of the phone numbers of callers in order to protect their identity, the callers routinely complained about gross irregularities they had witnessed. They include incomplete or no voting, violence, rigging, ballot snatching, forcing of voters to vote for Governor Akpabio, double thumb printing, stuffing of ballot boxes, and insecurity.
More from Observers:
Inform your group that right now in Ikot Abasi LGA after collation won by ACN at INEC offices, the electoral officers together with all the INEC officers have moved to Mr. Nsima EKere's house in Ikot uboyin Edemeya. They are mutilating result there this 10pm in Nsima Ekere's house. Mr. Nsima Ekere is the running mate to Akpabio. Both a driver & a PA to one of them who are there now confide in me.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN ....................................... in Itreto ward, EC 60 . code ak / 21/ 03/ 004. Nsit Ubium.there is only one ballot box instead of 3. ....................................... no election at polling booth at St. Saviours African school in Edeobom 1 in Mbiaso ward 3, Nsit Ibom LGA materials were destroyed when PDP thugs attempted to snatch it.
sender : 080666... ....................................... there is no election in our unit. that is Nothern Ukanafun ward 4. Ikot Uko Annang, Ukanafu, Akwa Ibom state.
sender: 0807755... ....................................... Ibesikpo ward 5. unit 007.p/s itoko .ibesikp oasutan lga. akwa ibom. election inconclusive, ballot boxes snatching by PDP members.
sender: 08180461... ....................................... our vote were not counted. unknown gunmen snatched the box when the security men left the polling unit in Ikotada-Idem in Ibiono Ibom LGA center; former technical school.
sender: 08051296... ....................................... INEC officials and police coluded with PDP stff balot boxes. Police caught some persons and allow them escape. Afaha Offiong ward 1 units 1 and 3
sender: 080349…. as we were voting police came and start shooting guns and snatched the material with the former speaker of the House of Assembly to his house: from ward 6 Ikot Osukpong ibiono .
sender: 0805241… ....................................... time : 4:50 pm polling unit: Ikot Ntong primary school, unit 10 ward 2, Ubium South LGA.nsit ubium .akwa ibom state. situation serious trouble voting is taking place . PDP agents have taken over the booth. voting not done in secrecy.
sender: 0803341… ....................................... in ward 8, unit 4 Nsit Atai LGA of A/Ibom state, PDP ward chairman brought thugs to disrupt the voting process. no election at this unit...
sender: 08057592… ....................................... unit 1 in Ibesikpo ward 5 is in serious unprour bcos PDP has given money to police by name solomon Ibok. Essien Udim LGA. Where the governor came from, he allowed double thumbpriting and instigated PDP boys against the ACN voters. now they've stopped voting’
sender: 080237887… ....................................... No election in Uyo ward 6. unit 6
sender: 0802329… ....................................... time: 4:35pm polling unit. Ikot Ntung primary school, unit 10 ward 2, Ubium south LGA. Nsit Ubium. F inger not marked after voting .confusion everywhere.
sender: 08033418… ....................................... UNIUYO polling unit. the ballot box has been snatched into the ravine. the result has not been announced.
sender: 08055503… ....................................... Onna Nung Ndem village Okat unit 009, no election was conducted , election umpire absconded.
sender: 08053262… ....................................... there no election in Itak ward 11 unit 12 and unit 4 bcos of incomplete materials as such army men pick the INEC officials and the materials to an unknown place.
sender: 0806367… ....................................... up till now we've not cast our votes due to insecurity in our unit. sender: 08152019… ....................................... There is serious ringing at Achan 2 IkaLGA. I must make sure that the election is cancelled
sender: 0807233… ....................................... polling unit 006 in Ikot Emiem Itam,ward 8 in Itu . ACN are really got the victorious mandate.
sender: 080513830… ....................................... In Etuk Nung Ukim unit Ukpom Minya ward 1, Mkpat Enin LGA. PDP people are causing violence bringing out machetes and forcing people to vote for them. sender: 07038495… ....................................... Ibiono Ibom ward 3 unit 6, no election.
sender: 080797417… ....................................... there is no election in my unit as a result of incomplete voting materials and results sheet not found. there is problem in Okoo Nsit 2 polling unit, PDP members drag the balot papers into the bush and do the voting latter after taking it home before returning it to INEC
sender: 08059664… ....................................... In Ibiono ward 6, PDP people came and take the box away.
sender: 0703034… ....................................... there was no election in Ikot-Obong unit ward 005 and 004-Ikot Osukpong. all in Ibiono Ibom LGA.
sender: 08184950… ....................................... there was no election in polling booth 003, Etinan LGA, Ikon Akpanya village.
sender: 07082400… ....................................... result of Nkwot Ikono, Etim Ekpo. we have 832 votes.
sender: 070544595… ....................................... election did not hold in Ikot Ambang, ward 5 in Ibiono LGA of Akwa Ibom state due to suspected fake election papers brought, which the people rejected.
sender: 08055… ....................................... at ward 2 unit 1 primary school, Ibiaku Uruan Oduma police joint task force just came in at the beginning of darkness beat the villagers and left with election materials . No count. only 417 were credited. sender: 08023308...
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