Senate President Godswill Akpabio has revealed that he was a victim of electoral malpractice during the 2019 general elections, alleging that his votes were destroyed in his local government area.
Akpabio made the revelation on Thursday during the Senate’s confirmation hearing for Prof. Joash Amupitan, who was screened and confirmed as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Senate President, while recounting his experience, expressed disappointment over what he described as a miscarriage of justice in how the case was handled.
“I was cheated in the 2019 elections, and we went to court,” Akpabio said. “The court annulled the election and ordered the prosecution of the electoral officer, but instead of prosecuting the INEC commissioner, they prosecuted the returning officer — a professor from the University of Calabar who has served 34 years.”
He added that the professor was sentenced to three years imprisonment, even though the real culprits were never held accountable.
“The same INEC Electoral Commissioner, working with some cohorts, changed the story that the man was trying to assist Akpabio,” he continued. “If he was trying to assist me, how come they burnt my votes in my local government? How come I wasn’t declared the winner?”
Akpabio stressed that it was time for the National Assembly to ensure that INEC officials who commit electoral infractions are held accountable under the law.
“If we are amending the Electoral Act, the real offenders must be held responsible,” he said. “At the level of the returning officer, the man can only announce what is collated from the centres. But when Resident Electoral Commissioners send security men to hijack results to their offices, that’s against the law.”
He further called for institutional reforms within INEC to prevent such incidents from recurring, insisting that the electoral body must take responsibility for violations of the Electoral Act.