The Akwa Ibom State House of Representatives candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Clement Jimbo has raised an alarm over an alleged plot by some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to manipulate the forthcoming supplementary election in Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency.
Jimbo said the conspiracy agenda was aimed at inflating figures and votes in order to suppress and undermine the existing margin of 2,962 in favour of the APC and give the PDP the leeway to steal the election.
He stated this in a statement issued at the end of a press conference held on Wednesday.
He said the electoral commission had not offered cogent and verifiable reasons for isolating 25 polling units for supplementary election.
He alleged that they had perfected plans to smuggle more polling units into the area where supplementary elections would take place, to favour the PDP candidate.
The statement read in part, "Abak/ Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency has a total of 386 Polling Units, 31 Registration Areas (Wards) and 3 Local Government Areas (Abak, Etim Ekpo and Ika).
"A list published on the Commission’s website indicates that the Commission is planning to hold supplementary election for the federal constituency in 25 polling units.
"We are minded to alert the public of ongoing devious efforts by compromised elements within the Commission, acting in collaboration with some corrupt leaders and interested persons within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, to engage in dubious, sinister and illegal efforts and actions which are geared towards manipulating the forthcoming supplementary election in our federal constituency, with the singular agenda of concocting inflated, fraudulent and fictional figures and votes in order to suppress, surpass and undermine the existing wide margin of 2,962 in favour of the APC and give the PDP the leeway to steal the election.
"As part of this fraudulent scheme, a plan has been hatched by some officials of the Commission, acting in concert with their sponsors in the PDP, to illegally increase the number of polling units where supplementary election is to hold in the federal constituency.
"This fraudulent scheme has now been substantiated by a worrisome publication on the Commission’s website to the effect that the April 15, 2023 supplementary election for Abak/ Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency will be held in 25 polling units.
"We have undertaken a rigorous verification and investigation of the listed 25 polling units as published by the Commission. We found to our chagrin, that the Commission has not offered cogent and verifiable reasons, on the basis for isolating the said 25 polling units for supplementary election.”
He also alleged that there had been several high-level meetings held by interested persons within the PDP to strategise on how to deploy political thugs and fake policemen and soldiers for the supplementary election.
The statement added that there is a plan to compromise the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) across the polling units where the supplementary election is to take place.
He, therefore, asked for a review of the “number of polling units where the supplementary election is expected to take place in line with the dictates of Section 24 of the Electoral Act 2022”.
“Polling units where elections had taken place and results already uploaded on IReV should be excluded. Copies of Form EC8A (II) uploaded on IReV for 4 of such polling units which we have identified among the 25 polling units will be made available to the media,” he said.
He continued, "We demand for the removal and replacement of the Electoral Officer (EO) of Etim Ekpo Local Government Area, Mr Edet Eyo Effiong. There are troubling indications that the neutrality of the said EO has been undermined. His conduct during the February 15, 2023 election shows that he has been compromised and should not be allowed to take part in the supplementary election.
"We call on INEC to examine all BVAS machines intended to be used for the supplementary election in the constituency to ensure that the integrity and default components of the BVAS have not been compromised."