Akwa Ibom gov suffers double loss at A’court

Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom state, suffered a major setback at the court of appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday.

The appellate court which had earlier upheld the ruling of the tribunal and ordered fresh election in 18 local government areas (LGAs), subsequently nullified the entire poll in line with the appeal of Okon Umana, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the April 11 election.

Umana, who expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict of the tribunal, asked the court to annul the election in the entire 31 LGAs because it was fraught with irregularities.

Delivering judgment on Friday, a five-man panel held that “votes were only allotted” and a proper election did not hold.

The panel annulled the poll and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election within 90 days.