Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has reacted to reports linking him to the actions of a jailed Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official, Professor Peter Ogban, who was recently convicted for electoral fraud.
Akpabio, through his media aide Anietie Ekong, said he never benefited from Ogban’s conduct during the 2019 National Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.
The response came shortly after the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of a lower court that sentenced Ogban, a professor of Soil Science at the University of Calabar, to three years in prison for manipulating election results.
The court found him guilty of altering the outcome of the February 23, 2019, senatorial election.
Akpabio’s media aide explained that the Senate President was, in fact, a victim of the electoral misconduct, not a beneficiary.
He noted that Ogban, who served as the Returning Officer during the election, canceled over 61,000 votes from Akpabio’s home local government area, Essien Udim, which led to Akpabio’s loss at the time.
These votes, though collated, were never announced.
Following the incident, Akpabio took the matter to the National Assembly Election Tribunal and later the Court of Appeal, both of which ruled in his favour and ordered a rerun in the affected area.
According to the aide, if Akpabio had truly benefited from the fraud, he would not have pursued legal action or demanded a rerun.
He also pointed out that Ogban did not declare Akpabio winner at any point, but instead cancelled his votes and declared another candidate victorious.
He described ongoing claims of rigging in Akpabio’s favour as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public and damage his image.
While Akpabio has since moved on and now leads the Senate, his aide said that such accusations continue to surface from individuals who remain bitter about the outcome of the past election.
He added that those who manipulated the election are gradually being held accountable, as seen in the case of Ogban, and expressed hope that others involved would face justice as well.
