By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
The supplementary elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ikono/Ini and Abak Federal Constituencies of Akwa Ibom State on Saturday, was again greeted with violence leaving six persons including a National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) member, serving as ad-hoc staff critically injured from gunshots.
The rerun polls, involved incumbent House of Representatives member for Ikono/Ini, Mr. Emmanuel Ukpong Udo, who decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pick the Young Progressives Party (YPP) ticket against former Commissioner, Glory Edet, of the PDP.
Going into the re-ordered contest, Ukpong Udo, is leading Edet of the PDP with the margin of 4,161, while in the Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency, Clement Jimbo, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leads incumbent lawmaker, Aniekan Umanah, with 2,962 votes margin, forcing desperation and violence allegedly by PDP supporters, who reportedly resort to hijacking of ballot materials and random shooting of some resisting officials of INEC and oppositions’ supporters.
It was gathered out of the 17 units the polls were re-conducted in Ikono/Ini, materials in some units were hijacked by armed security agents, said to be loyal to the ruling PDP, with a Corps member and others, who showed resistance shot in the melee
A former Local Government Chairman, who lost his bid for the House of Assembly under the PDP to the incumbent lawmaker, who migrated to the YPP, when he was denied a return ticket, was alleged to have shot an INEC official at Itak unit 2, when he resisted handing over ballot materials to the PDP thugs, after voting.
Hon. Godswill Umoh, a former Commissioner and current Chairman, House of Assembly Service Commission (HASC), who spoke to Journalists, after voting at his Nnung Udoe Itak, Ward 11, village council hall, had described the election as peaceful, but it was gathered, violence erupted around the Registration Area Centre (RAC) and other voting units soon after voting, as armed hoodlums backed by security agents, seized the ballot materials amid sporadic shooting and injury to dozens of voters and officials.
“The elections started peacefully In the early hours before materials started arriving from 10:00 am from the RAC to the 17 units, but few minutes after voting, hijacking of polling materials started with heavy shooting.
The Corps member, who was shot in leg at Ikot Efre, Itak unit 2, and another at unit 9, along with others have been rushed to the hospital, but we are yet to know how they are faring,” one electoral official attached to the Afaha Obio Enwang primary school, told Journalists.
Fuming over what he described as open cases of intimidation and deliberately orchestrated violence to disrupt the peaceful exercise, Emmanuel Ukpong Udo, who called for the cancellation of the polls in the affected units, urged his supporters to remain calm, while waiting for the final announcement by INEC.
In the same vein, violence were seen in Etim Ekpo LGA Ward 7 at Ibio Nnung Achat community and Etok Uruk Eshiet Ward 3, where thugs disrupted the contest with violence and hijacking of ballot materials after the polls.
From the camp of the YPP House of Representatives member seeking a return under YPP platform, it was learnt from his close Aide that “tension has been defused and calm returned following the declaration by the INEC National Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, that any disputed results should be discountenance and the outcome declared a nullity.”
On the shooting of the corps member and others across the seven units of Ikono Ward 11, Mr. Osaro Aisien, INEC official in – charge of Publicity and Voter Education, as well as the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said full details of the cases were still being expected, assuring that no stone would be left unturned in bringing perpetrators to justice.
