The Member Representing Mkpat Enin in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon Otobong Ndem and the Special Adviser to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Political and Legislative Affairs, Rt. Hon Ekong Sampson have allegedly been indicted by one of their aides Mr. Idoreyin Abel as the sponsors of electoral rigging and violence in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area during last Saturday’s PDP primaries.
Investigations by this reporter revealed that Mr. Idoreyin Abel an aide to Otobong Ndem who was appointed to serve as the Returning Officer for Ibiaku Ward 11 in the just concluded Councillorship primaries refused to take the election materials to the venue of the primaries but fraudulently in company of a convoy of about 5 cars decided to divert the materials to the resident of the House Member in Ikot Akata where they allegedly stayed to fill the result sheets.
Our Mkpat Enin Source said that the act angered the people of Ibiaku Ward 2, especially the youths who laid siege at Esa Ekpo junction to capture the returning officer, Mr. Idoreyin Abel and his gang and were subsequently manhandled by the youths.
A youth leader of the community who was at the scene of the incidence said that the youths resisted all attempts by men of Nigerian Police Force and Mkpat Enin Division and paid thugs to take City boy from the hands of the youths who according had already dealt with Mr. Abel who they noted is known for leading boys in the area to rig elections in Mkpat Enin.
According to our source who pleaded anonymity, Mr. Abel aka City Boy after dropping the result sheets at the residence of Otobong Ndem tried returning to Mkpat Enin but the youths of Ibiaku ward 2 who followed him to the Lawmaker’s residence blocked his car in front of Martins Ikono house and pulled him out of the car.
A video evidence obtained by our medium revealed how Mr. Idoreyin Abel confessed that the duo of Ekong Sampson and Otobong Ndem were behind this attempt to rig the party primaries.
We further gathered that Mr. Friday Akpabio, a senior aide to the lawmaker and Chief Martins Ikono an ally to Otobong Ndem later visited the state police headquarters to facilitate the release of Mr. Abel on alleged orders of Otobong Ndem and Ekong Sampson.
Our reliable source said that the police Commissioner ordered that Mr. Friday Akpabio and Chief Martins Ikono be detained since Mr. Abel had earlier implicated them in his statement.
Meanwhile, the brave youths of the Ward took Mr. Abel to State Police Headquarters on Saturday night to lodge a formal report on the incident where he was detained till the time of filing in this report.
The situation is said to have disturbed the lawmaker and the governor’s aide throughout Saturday night to the extent that they decided to visit the police headquarters on Sunday morning to forcefully effect the release of their aides but their attempt could not yield any result as sources informed us that the police Boss insisted that they must face the law for their crime.
His words “City Boy, Friday Akpabio are currently cooling their foots in Ikot Akpan Abia, for attempting to subvert justice in Ibiaku ward 2, we have had enough of Otobong Ndem and Ekong Sampson’s political rascality in Mkpat Enin, henceforth we will protect our mandate in any election that comes our place.
This is just the beginning, we have the video of everything that transpired incase they want to deny. The police are also there to give their part of the story and we trust the current commissioner of police. As of Sunday evening, none of them was released, we will follow this case to the end”.
Our impeccable source averred that Ekong Sampson and Otobong Ndem have been doing everything possible to hide the ugly incident from the governor or the press.
Governor Udom Emmanuel had challenged politicians who are offering to mobilize boys as thugs during the Local government elections, to rather engage their children for such purposes, and has also insisted on fair, transparent democratic processes in the emergence of candidates and eventual winners of the forthcoming Local Government elections in the state.
His words "My prayer during the primaries is that all the bad people should sleep till the congresses are over. Someone suggested to me that he wanted to mobilize boys during the election and i asked him, who are the boys? why not bring your children and not Akwa Ibom youths as political thugs? Don't give people's children guns, give them empowerment.
"Any man that will buy gun again for people's children, let that gun turn around and finish whoever brought it. No election is worth even a slap. Let there be peace. I have refused to accept candidates even from the men of God, and I apologize for that. Its better I remain neutral. We must maintain discipline"
Speaking at a special edition of the Monthly Prayer Meeting in Government House, Uyo, the Governor said, “my apologies especially to some men of faith who called to tell me they have candidates. I am sorry because if you call me and another person calls me, who will I love and who will I hate?”
Governor Emmanuel who explained why he chose to remain neutral as a father to all, lamented that some people have remained as trouble shooters in their areas.
He condemned politicians who engage in arming youths with weapons of destruction to engage in election violence, saying “no election of any type is worth anybody slapping the other person.”
The Governor warned against fetish practices in the course of the cultural displays in the state, saying that as a state founded on God, it was not right to share God’s glory with any form of idolatry.
1 Comments
Please con you publish this said video for the interest of our people.
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