2023 GUBER: SENATOR BASSEY ALBERT, TWO OTHERS, ENTER WITNESS BOX ON TUESDAY

The YPP Governorship candidate in the 2023 Governorship election in Akwa Ibom State, Senator Bassey Albert is expected to mount the witness box on Tuesday, as his counsel wrap up their case at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

The tribunal adjourned on Saturday June, 17, after five more witnesses had testified for the Petitioners, the Young Progressives Party, YPP and Senator Bassey Albert.

Senator Albert’s request of a subpoena for an alleged staff of the Academic Affairs Department of the University of Uyo, Mr Daniel Akpan, was granted by the tribunal.

Earlier last Friday, a subpoenaed Prosecution witness at the Tribunal, Dr Ime Success Akpabio, Director of Academic Affairs of the University told the tribunal the fake result certificate presented as Exhibit by Bassey Albert against Pastor Umo Eno, with registration number 98UG017806, did not emanate from the University of Uyo.

The University management staff confirmed that “Umo Eno graduated from the University of Uyo, while the said piece of evidence submitted by Senator Akpan to the court was forged.

“My Lord, this document did not emanate from the University of Uyo. It is designed to mislead and deceive the Court.

“This registration number belongs to Ugoji Chinenye who was admitted to study Communication Arts.

When further cross examined, Dr Akpabio who told the tribunal he had worked in the University for 24 years, “My Lord, this stamp is a forged stamp. We don't recognize that stamp to be of the University of Uyo.

On the letter of expulsion purportedly issued against Pastor Umo Eno by the institution, Dr Ime Akpabio said, “Everything here is wrong.

“This document did not emanate from the University of Uyo and the name of the then registrar, P. J. Efiong is wrongly spelt as ‘Effiong’ and his signature is fake.”

He went further to maintain that “the document tendered by OBA's counsel is signed by one Daniel J. Akpan said to be an Administrative Officer 1, whereas “No we don't have any Administrative Officer 1 known as Daniel Akpan.”

”The Registrar has authority to certify documents emanating from the University of Uyo and if he is not around, he can mandate the Director (which is me) to sign. Administrative Officer 1 is so low in ranking to certify such “a University documents.”

The said Daniel Akpan who was earlier denied by the Director of Academic Affairs of the University of Uyo, is expected to be on the witness box to give his testimony, alongside a statistician and the petitioner, Senator Akpan.

Last Saturday, the five witnesses who testified for the defeated YPP governorship candidate on Saturday included, Bishop Andrew Unwanta, who served as YPP Collation Agent in Etinan Local Government Area, one Emmanuel Nyong Uko, who served as the party's Collation Agent in Ibesikpo-Asutan, Mr Okpoyo Etifit who served as collation agent of the YPP in Urueofong Oruko, Elder Ufot Tobby Nkangude, YPP Collation agent in ikot Abasi and Hon. Uko Idiong who served as collation agent in Ukanafun.

In their oral submission before the tribunal, all five witnesses gave statements at variance with their earlier written statements before the tribunal.

At the end they failed to prove how the first respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC connived with the second respondent, Pastor Umo Eno and his party, the PDP being the third respondent to surpress their votes in the last election.

The witnesses failed to present their unit results before the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, claiming that they left their respective units before the end of voting but were only informed by their respective unit agents that the processes were compromised.

Arch Bishop Andrew Unwanta, who served as YPP Collation Agent in Etinan Local Government Area, said he voted at Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkana, in Southern-Iman ward 1 in Etinan LGA with polling unit code 014 Code, but that he left his unit immediately after casting his vote to the local government collation Centre in Etinan, where he was informed by polling agents of his party of some irregularities at the unit.

Governorship election form 2023
My polling unit was Comprehensive Sec sch, Nkana, in Southern-Iman ward 1 in Etinan LG. Unit 014 Code no of the polling unit.

I'm too old to remember my polling unit number(because of old age). But i know i voted in Nkana.

“YPP scored 69votes at my polling unit.
I voted, and after voting i left, because i was not the polling unit agent, i was the local government collation officer for Etinan”.

PDP Counsel: The people that best speak about what happens at the polling unit are the polling unit agents who remained there and not people like you who went to vote and left”.

Uwanta: Whereas i got the documents from the agents of YPP and they told me what happened.
Says polling agents reported to him what transpired at the unit on the day of election.
All the forms brought before the court bears Governorship election 2023. The forms brought before the court, every single of them have been signed by the Presiding officer, Unwanta says he's not able to go through the form to ascertain it has been signed by the Presiding Officer.

Uwanta had told the court that polling agents of the YPP were chased away from Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Itina.

He had also testified that the unit results were not signed by the Presiding Officer but the one's tendered before the court by his party YPP were all signed by the Presiding Officer.

But when cross examined by defense counsel, he lamented that, “There is no evidence that the name of the YPP agent is written on that form. I was not there at the polling unit. I was only at my polling unit. I got my information from polling agents.”

He also confessed, “I may not remember what my party scored, I'm an old man”.

“My complain is that the uploading of results took place outside of the ward centres as stipulated in the electoral act, but was done at INEC office in Etinan”, he added.

Mr. Emmanuel Uko, who introduced himself as an ICT expert said he voted at Unit 21, Primary School Mbikpong Ikot Edim in Ibesikpo-Asutan, accused INEC and the PDP of allegedly surpressing votes earned by his party, the YPP.

He claimed what was declared by the electoral body was not what his party won.

When asked by the court to authenticate the actual result he felt his party earned, he went dumb.

The tribunal panel chairman, Justice Adekunle Adeleye, subsequently directed the petitioners’ counsel led by Ahmed Raji, SAN to produce the petitioner, Senator Bassey Albert on Tuesday, as well as the other requested two witnesses.