…We’ll beat you again – PDP
FROM: JOE EFFIONG, UYO
The Akwa Ibom State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it would not contest the result of the local government election conducted in the state, penultimate Saturday.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all the 31 local government chairmanship seats and 329 councillorship positions leaving nothing for the APC or any other opposition party in the state.
But the state chairman of the APC, Dr. Ahmadu Atai, told Daily Sun, on Tuesday , that his party was not ready to challenge the result, rather it would conserve their energy and resources to prosecute the 2019 general election.
“We don’t want to enter into such a distraction for now. 2019 is very close. The state government had done what they wanted and had scored 329 over 329; 31 over 31. Let us rather prepare for 2019. But we have been able to show them that we are on ground. 2019 is not very far again.
“But we have told any of our candidates who wishes to challenge their election in court to do so. But such a member should come for us to extract an agreement that they wouldn’t disturb us. So far nobody had come forward to say they want to challenge the result,” Dr Atai said.
Asked whether he thought the APC did well in the campaigns towards the election, the chairman replied in the affirmative, stressing that their campaign flag-off was the best in the state, beating that of the PDP.
“All those who attended our flag off were real members. It wasn’t a cosmetic arrangement like the PDP usually do by sewing uniforms to people. Those who attended our rally came and went back peacefully. Nobody fought.
Chairman of the PDP in the state, Obong Paul Ekpo, was not available to react to the APC chairman’s position, but the state publicity secretary of the PDP, Mr. Ememobong, who stepped to respond, said the PDP had already accepted the pre-election concession speech by the APC that the PDP would win.
Ememobong said, “They (APC) already know the outcome of what such a challenge would mean because in 2015 they challenged the result up to the Supreme Court and they got the result. So we are waiting for them in 2019 to beat them again and let them challenge it.”