Rumour, loss of confidence herald elections in Akwa Ibom

There are very clear indications that the security agencies in Akwa Ibom, especially the police are fast losing the confidence of the people following the recent onslaught on leaders of the opposition parties in the state. The recent arraignment of 41 people believed to be members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in court over alleged involvement in the recent mayhem in the state did not go down well with the people.

As if that was not all, the state commissioner of police, Mr. Felix Uyanna said at a press briefing he addressed recently in his office that the state police command has a long list of wanted suspects in connection with the recent mass protest in the state that led to the burning down of some vehicles belonging to the state government in Uyo, the state capital.

A politician and public opinion analyst in the state, Comrade Friday Effiong, said the people of Akwa Ibom State are apprehensive based on their perception that the police are after people who are contributing towards wresting power from the ruling PDP.

Effiong said: “The people of Akwa Ibom are not satisfied with the people governing the state today and so they are bent on changing them through the ballots. The ruling party contracted the police to arrest and detain members of the opposition parties in the state so that they do not mobilize the voters against the PDP. But it is too late because the people have insisted that there must be change in the state. In the meantime, over 50 members of the ACN including some of those contesting the National Assembly election have been arrested and detained.”

He added that “their plan is to arrest and detain all the ACN leaders in the state so that on the day of the election, nobody will be around to challenge them even if they want to rig. When you go and find out why and how those vehicles were burnt down, you will discover that it is a different story from what the state government and the police are saying. When the people fail to have confidence in state, as it is happening today in the state, then you know all is not well.”

Effiong is not the only person holding such view in the state. Before the national assembly elections were postponed on Saturday, April 2, our reporter discovered that though ballot papers for the House of Representatives and result sheets for the Senatorial election scheduled for that same day were delivered to the state, they were not distributed by INEC to the various local government offices or to the polling centres because the materials were incomplete and those that were supplied were inadequate.

While electoral officials were not at the polling stations in Uyo, Ibiano, Ikono and many other local governments visited by our reporter; electoral officials were seen at many centres in Ikot Ekpene screening and accrediting prospective voters before the exercise was formally stopped by the postponement notice. That arrangement raised a lot of suspicion among prospective voters.

Even after the postponement was announced, one community leader at ward 5 in Ikot-Adaidem in Ibiano local government of the state, who spoke on behalf of the hundreds of voters waiting at their polling station with no official to attend to them, alleged that there was a plan by the PDP controlled state government to divert their ballot papers elsewhere to perfect rigging. He said they would remain at the centre until 4pm when voting was supposed to end.

“We have been told very reliably that ballot papers for this area have been diverted to the state House of Assembly where they were being thumb printed in favour of the ruling party because they know we are for positive change. We are waiting for them to come. If they think they can arrest and detain our leaders, they cannot arrest our votes. It is not possible,” he said.

At Ikot-Usan and Nkwa-Ibiano, the story is the same. Ernest Effiong and Edidiong Udoh who spoke separately on behalf of their various communities, accused the state government and the ruling PDP of planning hard to rig the election using the police to intimidate voters.

At Ediene community in Ikot-Ayan, majority of the voters refused to turn out for the exercise even though no electoral officials were also seen at the polling centre. Few elderly men seen around the polling centre said the youths were not willing to come out for the election as the police were hunting for most of them on the allegation that they were part of the crisis that took place in Uyo.

Obong Steven Akpan, 73 said: “Look at the distance between this place and Uyo, they said our boys went there to cause the crisis. It is not true. Our boys were in the farm when they were burning those cars in Uyo. Our only involvement is because our people are asking for change. PDP should be ready to kill everybody because we all said we want change. Now we hear that they took our ballot papers to Uyo to go and rig. The police come here from time to time. That cannot stop the change.”

Efforts to reach PDP and ACN state officials were not possible. Officials of ACN in the state were said to have deserted their offices and private residential houses for fear of being arrested by the police. Many of them have been accused of involvement in the recent crisis in Uyo. Also, PDP officials could not be reached in their secretariat as they were said to be busy arranging for the polls.

However, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Maria Owi described as unfounded the allegations that ballot papers meant for some areas were diverted to the state House of Assembly where they were being thumb printed in favour of one of the political parties.

“Let me tell you, the ballot papers brought to this state were only for the House of Representatives election and even at that, they were inadequate. All the ballot papers are still in my office. I have not released a single one. How could they have seen them and even divert them? It is not true,” she said.

Maria, however, admitted that there was tension in the state and urged all the people to relax their minds and co-operate with the commission as every possible step was being taken to ensure a free, fair and credible election. She said the commission had been provided a military helicopter and some engine boats in addition to the numerous vehicles it has for the election. She said as soon as election materials arrived in the state, they would be distributed easily. Now with the postponement of the election from Saturday, she even has more time to prove to voters that she has no script before her to act.

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