• Governor Eno
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, on Monday, affirmed that the election of Mr. Ntiedo Usoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Chairman of Essien Udim Local Government Area was conducted in a free, fair, and credible manner.
Governor Eno, who stated this during Usoro and his colleagues’ swearing-in ceremony at the Banquet Hall of the State Government House on Monday, also advised the thirty-one newly elected local council officials to uphold good conduct while in office.
”Your election and subsequent swearing-in today as the Chairman of Essien Udim means that our process was free. Nobody can claim we were not free. It was fair, it was credible. And that’s why you are here”, Eno stated firmly while advising Usoro and others on the importance of good leadership behavior.
“We expect that you will work with us. You will imbibe our spirit, you will cooperate with this government and the state to ensure that we will work together and continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people”.
Tensions in the state escalated on Sunday afternoon when the State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC) declared the APC candidate, Ntiedo Usoro, who polled 686 votes, as the winner in Essien Udim Local Government Area, which is the home turf of Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Initially the Returning Officer, Professor Inyang Ating from the University of Uyo, declared Enobong Patrick Friday of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 55,612 votes as the winner during the election results announcement on Saturday.
However, in a surprising turn of events, AKISIEC Chairman, Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak, released state-wide results on Sunday declaring Ntiedo Usoro as the elected candidate for Essien Udim Local Government Area, while the PDP purportedly won all other 30 local council areas in the state.
Although specific vote counts were not provided in the AKISIEC announcement, the discrepancy in reported votes has caused confusion and suspicion among residents in Essien Udim local government area.
Additionally, the earlier declared overwhelming victory for PDP’s Enobong Patrick Friday, with 55,612 votes, added to the controversy surrounding the election results.
Prof. Ating stated in his official results declaration: “I hereby certify that I was the Returning Officer for the election held on the 5th of October 2024. The election was contested, and the candidates received the following votes:
Hon. Ntiedo Usoro of the APC: 686 votes
Engr. Enobong Patrick Friday of the PDP: 55,612 votes
“Engr. Enobong Patrick Friday, having complied with the requirements of the law and having scored the majority of votes, is hereby declared elected.
“He also received more than 25 per cent of the votes in all 13 wards of Essien Udim. I so declare and I hereby sign as the Returning Officer.”
As of the time of filing this report, the AKISIEC Chairman, who was at the electoral body’s headquarters in Uyo presenting Certificates of Return to the newly elected chairmen, avoided addressing the conflicting results for Essien Udim LGA.
This situation has ignited outrage among PDP leaders in Akwa Ibom, who accuse Governor Umo Eno of betraying the party and his predecessor, Emmanuel Udom, in favor of fostering a closer relationship with Nigeria’s Senate President, Chief Godswill Akpabio
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Governor Eno reassured PDP supporters by calming their nerves and emphasizing that losing one local government in an election doesn’t equate to overall failure.
He highlighted the importance of allowing democracy to flourish, recalling that the party had lost two local government areas in the previous year’s general election but that it did not translate to a loss overall.
“I understand that we are feeling bad. However, this is the beauty of democracy. We come together as a people and continue to work hard.
“Just because we (the PDP) do not have the chairman of the local government today does not mean that we lack dedicated party members, nor does it imply that the state government is not under PDP control.
“So, we will continue to do everything to work with all our party faithful in Essien Udim to ensure that they still derive the benefit that is available at the state level.
