Akwa Ibom Election Tribunals Dismiss All 13 APC Petitions, Affirm PDP Victories

The Local Government Election Tribunals set up to review the October 5, 2024 Chairmanship and Councillorship elections in Akwa Ibom State have dismissed all 13 petitions filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ekemini Uba, the PDP’s State Legal Adviser, made the announcement on Friday evening in Uyo. He revealed that the petitions were filed against PDP candidates for Chairmanship positions in Abak and Ibiono Ibom Local Government Areas, and for Councillorship in 11 of the 14 wards in Ibiono Ibom LGA.

Uba explained that the Tribunals for Uyo (Akwa Ibom Northeast) and Ikot Ekpene (Akwa Ibom Northwest) senatorial districts, led by chairs George Ituen and Samuel Akpabio, respectively, ruled that the petitions were filed outside the required time frame and were thus dismissed for incompetence.

“We challenged the competence of the petitions and prayed for their dismissal. After thorough consideration, the Tribunals dismissed the cases and upheld the victories of our candidates,” Uba said.

He further congratulated the 13 PDP candidates who had their victories reaffirmed by the Tribunals, as well as Governor Pastor Umo Eno, for his contributions to the political stability in the state. Uba lauded the governor’s approach to politics, emphasizing that elections should not be treated as a “do or die affair.”

“Despite some losses in certain areas, our Governor never encouraged unnecessary contests of defeat at the Tribunal, as he believes that power belongs to God and there are always new opportunities after elections,” Uba added.

In a separate statement, the State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Edwin Ebiese, clarified that while the party emerged victorious in most areas, they lost one Councillorship seat in Ika LGA, the Essien Udim Chairmanship seat, and a few other Councillorship positions in the same area.