Godswill Akpabio's Bid for Senatorial Ticket Meets Brick wall As Winner Insists on Keeping Mandate

The Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs  , Godswill Akoabio had a plan B prior to resigning to run for the Presidential Ticket of the All Progressive Congress APC. 

Apart from paying the N100 Million for the exercise, he also put structures  in place to ensure that the Akwa Ibom North Senatorial Ticket of his Party would be handed over to him if the he failed to become the Presidential Candidate of his party .

So after his failure in Abuja he moved to Akwa Ibom to pick the ticket that was waiting for him. So he thought.

Akpabio did not reckon with the determination of Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Udom Ekpoudum (retd.) who won the  May 27, 2022 primary for the Senatorial Ticket . The Ex- Police Chief did not listen to entreaties to vacate the ticket for the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State. 

Nonetheless Akpabio and his supporters held what they called a primary rerun and declared the former Governor the candidate for the APC for the Senatorial District.

Now the Independent National Electoral Commission , INEC has declared the Rerun that produced Akpabio a nullity and that in the eye of the law Ekpoudum is the APC Candidate for  Akwa Ibom North-West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial Ticket.

According to Mike Igini , INEC Resident Electoral Commission, “The report of the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District APC primary as submitted to INEC headquarters in Abuja is final. It is concluded. The train has left the station. The timeline is clear. All those who are in politics should go and study the 2022 Electoral Act very well."

I hear people talk about substitution. If you look at Section 31 and Section 34 of the Electoral Act, those of you who are still carrying the old idea of the 2010, 2012 Electoral Act in your head, thinking you can substitute wilfully, it is no longer so.

Then number two is only in the case of death. Even at that, there will now be a fresh primary. This is the new law. So, what we are seeing going on is clearly a misnomer. The rerun can only be conducted between and among those who participated in the first Senatorial election of May 27, 2022 and the Senatorial primary for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District was not cancelled, was not nullified, was not inconclusive. It was conclusive, it was concluded and the report was written and it is final because you cannot reopen that anymore."