Contrary to general assumptions, as evidenced by telephone calls and personal emails I have received, the court case between ACN and PDP, which was held today (January 26) at Uyo was not postponed. What happened is that the PDP asked the Tribunal to dismiss the contention brought by the ACN on technical reasons. According to PDP, the original 180 days, or six months, apportioned to listen to the case had expired since November 15, 2011; therefore, it is wrong for the Tribunal to entertain the matter. Each side tendered arguments on the matter. The court will return from deliberations on February 7 (2012) to issue its rulings.
Experts say the Tribunal will have to decide on one of two decisions; side with the request of the PDP and throw away the case on technicalities or dismiss the petition of PDP for lack of merits. If the PDP argument is rejected, the case will then go to trial.
It may be recalled that there are precedents to guide the Tribunal in making a decision. For example, in a similar case, which involved Nsima Umoh and Senator Ita Enang, the PDP lawyers made a similar argument that the 180 days had expired. The Tribunal in Uyo sided with the PDP and dismissed the petition brought by Mr. Nsima Umoh (ACN). Nsima Umoh filed an appeal with the Appeal Court in Calabar. Yesterday----just yesterday (January 25, 2012) ---the Appeal Court in Calabar overturned the ruling of the Tribunal in Uyo, in favor of Nsima Umoh. What this means is that the Tribunal in Uyo has no choice but to set a date, in which both sides will have to come in and present arguments as to whom actually won the Senatorial position for Uyo District.
On the matter of the dispute of the governorship election between Senator Akpan Udoedehe and Mr. Godswill Akpabio, analysts say the PDP is just using the 180-day argument to buy time. All the analysts contacted agreed that the petition submitted by the PDP will not hold water. One analyst said, "even if the lower court agrees with the PDP, it is very certain that the Appeal Court will overturn it, just as it has done in the case of Nsima Umoh versus Senator Ita Enang."
There are those who may wonder why Mr. Akpabio and the PDP are fighting so hard to make sure that the dispute does not go to trial. Insiders say what the PDP and Akpabio are scared of are the available unexpected and unprecedented evidence that were submitted by the ACN to the Tribunal as proofs that Akpabio and his Party blatantly rigged the gubernatorial election of April 26, 2011.
According to a reliable source, who was involved in collating all the evidence sent to the Tribunal, "If you see what (evidence) we shipped to the Tribunal, you will be amazed. It took three truck-loads to transport all the materials to the Tribunal. Among them were videos and still-photos in compact discs that would prove how the entire election was rigged. We even have the 2007, yes 2007, ballot papers that Akpabio supporters stuffed in ballot boxes just to increase the number of votes for him. We also went around the entire State and collected the ACN ballot papers that PDP supporters stole and scattered everywhere. Well, I cannot be more specific than this because I don't want to give out too much information."
While Mr. Akpabio may not have the opportunity to see all those evidence, sources say PDP lawyers have disclosed their existence to Akpabio. This may explain why PDP and Akpabio are fighting tooth and nail to have the case dismissed on technical reasons. Such a dismissal would put an end to all those evidence being disclosed to the public. According to another insider, "people keep talking about bribing the judges. I can assure you that once the judges have the opportunity to see all the evidence, by the time the case ends, they will be so overwhelmed that even if they (the judges) had taken bribes from Akpabio, they would have no choice but to return those bribes."
However, no matter how one looks at the matter, the truth is that the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election is still an on-going business. While Mr. Akpabio is still basking himself in glory as the Governor, no one should be surprised if one day, the verdict comes in to say "you are out!" Akpabio must go and Akpabio will go; it’s only a matter of time.
Written by
Ikpafak Thompson Essien
The Voice of the Poor Masses
Defender of the Oppressed
Social Critic
A native of Ibibio nation of Ubium Republic extraction, now living in the safe and beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, where no AKPF, ADUMA, ADV, and Akwa Ibom State politicians can reach.
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