CSOs demand Akpabio’s sack over alleged electoral fraud

CYRIL MBAH, Abuja

A coalition of more than twenty concerned civil society organisations has demanded the immediate resignation or sack of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for benefiting from election fraud following the conviction of the electoral officer who allegedly aided him to win the 2019 senatorial election.

The prominent Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) took a critical swipe at the Senate President for refusing to immediately accept personal responsibility and resigning honourably and called on him to step aside without further delay as the leader of the National Assembly following the Court of Appeal affirmation of the jailing of Professor Peter Ogban, the returning officer in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial election, for electoral fraud.

The group recalled that the appellate court sitting in Calabar last Wednesday upheld the three-year prison sentence handed down by a lower court on Professor Ogban, who was found guilty of falsifying election results in favour of Senator Akpabio, who was the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

“This ruling raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of Senator Akpabio’s mandate,” the CSOs said in a joint statement issued in Abuja, adding, “It is deeply troubling that the election which brought him to the Senate has now been judicially confirmed to have been manipulated. In any democratic society, such a development demands immediate accountability and responsible leadership.”

The CSOs emphasized that although Senator Akpabio denied personal involvement in the fraud, the conviction of the very official who declared him the winner casts a serious dark shadow over the credibility of the election insisting that for the sake of public confidence in the electoral system, the rule of law, and the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, Senator Akpabio must temporarily vacate his position until the matter is conclusively addressed.

While raising the fundamental question as to whether Senator Akpabio has the legal or moral standing to contest for a seat in the 10th National Assembly, let alone serve as its President after having been a confirmed beneficiary of electoral fraud in the 2019 election to the 9th Senate—which he did not even compete for due to his appointment as Minister of Niger Delta, the CSOs said: “This is not just about one individual. It is about restoring public trust in our electoral process. Allowing the Senate President to remain in office under such serious ethical questions undermines democratic values and sends a dangerous signal ahead of the 2027 general elections.”

The CSOs commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), particularly former Akwa Ibom Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Mike Igini, for spearheading the investigation and prosecution of the case and urged the National Assembly, INEC, and the judiciary to take the judgment as a clarion call to strengthen mechanisms that prevent electoral manipulation at all levels in the future.

The Coalition further called on the APC leadership to demonstrate its commitment to electoral reform and democratic accountability by initiating a rerun or revalidation process for the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial seat.

“The judiciary has done its part. It is now up to the political leadership to rise to the occasion and show Nigerians and the world that no one is above the law—not even the Senate President,” the CSOs concluded.

Signatories to the statement include representatives of Governance Team, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, Lawyers Alert, Media Rights Agenda, Mothers and Marginalized Advocacy Centre (MAMA Centre), Organization for Community Civic Engagement (OCCEN), Partners West Africa, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Center in Africa PAACA, Praxis, Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), RULAAC – Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Say NO Campaign – Nigeria, Social Action, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Spaces for Change, State of the Union (SOTU), Tax Justice and Governance Platform, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), West Africa Civil Society Forum (WASCSOF), West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Women in Media Communication Initiative (WIM), Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) Yiaga Africa and Zero Corruption Coalition (ZCC) among others.

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