Upon the arrival of the APC inspection team led by Mr. Victor Iyanam, a former Attorney General of the State who represented the party's lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN and the forensic experts engaged by the APC candidate, the embattled REC, Mr. Okojie who has been severally accused of corruption and compromise was no where to be found.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State on Friday May 15, 2015 deliberately frustrated and undermined the efforts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Umana Okon Umana to access and inspect materials used for the April 11, governorship election in the State as ordered by the Election Tribunal in Uyo.
The Chairman of the Governorship Election Tribunal in Akwa Ibom State, Justice Goddy Anunihe, had on Thursday 14th May ordered the Independent Electoral Commission in the State to give the Petitioners access to all materials; including Permanent Voter Card (PVC) Readers printouts, ballot papers and all other materials used during the just concluded Governorship Election in the State.
Inspection of the election materials was billed to commence on Friday 15 May, 2015 at 10 am at the Headquarters of the Commission in the State. However, in a deliberately orchestrated plot to frustrate the Petitioners, the State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Austin Okojie not only refused to cooperate with the APC but also sabotaged the exercise.
Upon the arrival of the APC inspection team led by Mr. Victor Iyanam, a former Attorney General of the State who represented the party's lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN and the forensic experts engaged by the APC candidate, the embattled REC, Mr. Okojie who has been severally accused of corruption and compromise was no where to be found. This delayed the inspection for more than 2 hours.
When Mr. Okojie finally surfaced at about 12 pm with other INEC staff, he refused to allow the APC access to the election materials. This led to a long argument between the APC team and the REC. After succumbing to the insistence of the APC, Mr. Okojie told the APC inspection team that INEC does not have tables on which the materials will be placed for inspection.
Determined to go ahead despite the antics of the REC, the APC went out and sourced for a table on its own. Still undeterred, the REC again told the APC Counsel and forensic experts that they will not be allowed to use equipment, which they had brought along with them. The forensic experts had brought high tech scanners and photocopiers along with them for the exercise. The REC insisted that only the 3 to 4 photocopiers owned by the Commission will be used which he did not even make available.
On being informed that the scanners brought in by the forensic experts had the capacity to scan 120,000 ballot papers a day and that it will not be possible to examine hundreds of thousands of ballot papers and other materials which were allegedly used throughout the entire State during the polls, the REC became infuriated.
In a heated argument, the APC Counsel, Mr. Iyanam told the REC that INEC allowed parties to use the same equipment for inspection without any argument during the 2007 and 2011 Election Tribunal cases and wondered why it should be different in 2015. The REC, Mr. Okojie bluntly replied to the surprise of everyone that in 2011 when he served as REC in Abia State, that he did not allow such equipments to be used. Mr. Iyanam fired back saying that it was preposterous for Mr. Okojie to cite his past lawlessness and impunity as a precedent.
Not done, Mr. Okojie told Mr. Iyanam that the INEC Chief Security Officer in State, one Mr. Asuquo Effiong had sent him a threat text message and that he had ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to detain him indefinitely. He further stated that he will not tolerate any challenge to his authority. However, a reliable security source in the State said that the truth of the matter is that the INEC CSO had sent the REC a message accusing the REC of "eating alone" and vowed to expose him if he was not given his share of the bribes given to the REC by the State Governor, Godswill Akpabio.
On March 27, 2015, a day before the just concluded presidential election, Sahara Reporters had exclusively revealed how Governor Akpabio bribed Mr. Okojie with 2.5 billion naira for him to rig elections in the State in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in State.
After many altercations, the REC brought out some materials allegedly used for the April 11 governorship polls in the State. Upon examination by the APC, it was discovered that INEC had mixed up the materials used for the governorship election with those used for the Senatorial and House of Representatives elections. This spark another round of heated argument between the APC team and the REC as Mr. Okojie insisted that INEC will not separate the materials and that the APC will not used its equipment for the exercise.
Feeling frustrated by the shameful actions of the REC which they see as a clear attempt to frustrate the party's petition at the Election Tribunal, the APC inspection team left the INEC Headquarters.
In another twist which points to an obvious collusion between the INEC and the State Government, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the State, Mr. Uwemedimoh Nwoko and the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Emmanuel Enoidem, also a lawyer, were conspicuously going in and out of the INEC office during the abortive inspection exercise.
Mr. Nwoko later spoke with journalists who came to cover the exercise. He told the press men that he was at the INEC Headquarters to represent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, a legal source dismissed Mr Nwoko's defense saying that since the State Government is not a party to the election petition the Attorney General had no business whatsoever being at the INEC Headquarters.
The source also stated that if indeed the Mr Nwoko was there to represent the PDP he may be liable for gross misconduct because the Code of Conduct for Public Servants and the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners prohibits him from engaging in private cases and that the law does not allow him as the Chief Law Officer of the State to take up private briefs.
Sahara Reporters had obtained documents and reported exclusively on 9th May, 2015 that while data with the INEC in Abuja shows that only 437, 128 persons were accredited by Card Readers to vote during the April 11governorship elections in Akwa Ibom State, the corrupt Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State unilaterally allocated 996, 128 votes to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Udom Emmanuel and gave the APC candidate 89, 865 votes.
Guideline issued by INEC in Abuja and signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta C. Ogakwu on 2nd April, 2015 stated that only Cards Readers would be used for 2015 governorship elections in the country and that elections should be rescheduled in places where the Card Readers failed.
Both local and international observers had called for the total cancellation of elections in the State for falling below acceptable standards.