The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected Saturday’s local government election in Akwa Ibom State.
There have been allegations of widespread violence and irregularities in the election.
“The party wishes to inform the security agencies, government of Akwa Ibom State, the federal government of Nigeria, and the general public that we reject in entirety any concocted result that AKISIEC may wish to announce to the general public as the final result of the purported local government election,” the APC said in a statement issued on Saturday night.
The statement was signed by the State Chairman of APC, Amadu Attai, the State Secretary of the party, Effiong Etok, and the party’s Caucus Chairman in the state, Don Etiebet.
The party insisted that there was no election across the entire state.
“In their quest to rig and announce spurious results, all sensitive materials including result sheets were nowhere to be found,” the party said.
The results of the election have not yet been released.
The Chairman of the election commission, Aniedi Ikoiwak, didn’t pick calls or respond to the text message sent to his telephone line by PREMIUM TIMES.
The spokesperson of PDP in the state, Ini Ememobong, however, reacted to the development, describing the APC in the state as bad losers.
Mr. Ememobong, who is from Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, said the state secretary of APC, Mr. Etok, made a violent attempt to hijack voting materials and, thereby, allegedly disrupted the election at Unit 7, Ward 4 in the area.
“So, what do you make out of it when the state secretary of APC, who is one of the signatories in the rejection, was an actor in this case?” the PDP spokesperson said.
“The rejection (of the election by the APC) is one of the signs of the massive failure that was only waiting for them.
“A party who went to court three times seeking to stop the election, a party who tried to stop AKISIEC from distributing the election materials, a party who rather than preparing for an election, mobilised for violence, cannot accept the results from the people.
“Look at it, the people caught with arms in Ikot Ekpene in a vehicle known by everyone to belong to Chief Sunny Ibanga, were they working for PDP? The guns caught with them, was that their permanent voter’s cards?
“Those who came with Effiong Etuk to Unit 7, Ward 4 in Ibiono Ibom with acids, with machetes, with guns, were those their PVCs? And the scattered election materials everywhere?
“The only result the APC would accept is the result of violence. It’s common sense that you cannot accept the result that you did not prepare for.
“APC didn’t prepare for election; until two weeks to the election, they were still in the law court,” Mr. Ememobong said.
