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By Sunday Ani
Akwa Ibom Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mike Igini, has written to chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Blessing Agbomhere, asking him to retract, within 48 hours, series of malicious statements he made against him on a national television or risk a legal action.
A letter by his legal counsel, Clement Onwuenwunor, noted that Agbomhere had, on Wednesday, June 29, told the world in a television interview that Igini has abused the privileges of his office.
Agbomhere was alleged to have maliciously accused Igini of being partial and biased against the interest of APC in Akwa Ibom State; working for the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State; being a ceremonial consultant to the state governor in electoral matters; having compromised the values of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and being a hatchet man hired by the PDP to work for them in INEC, as well as shamelessly defending the rights of political parties and living in the lodge of Akwa Ibom State government.
Agbomhere, according to Onwuenwunor, went further to say he has videos of Igini driving in and out of Akwa Ibom State government lodge.
Igini’s lawyer said the malicious accusations had been given unprecedented publicity since they were published to the whole world, and, as such, have led to the most wicked attack on the towering image of Igini, who over the years, has a deserved reputation in Nigeria and internationally as a forthright electoral umpire.
He described the allegations as hellish conjectures from the spiral imaginations of Agbomhere, who neither has the fear of God nor regard for a man of probity like Igini, all in his misguided foray for ephemeral political power.
“As characteristic of unrepentant blackmailers, you threw caution to the wind, and in your frenzied efforts to disparage our client without checking your facts, you did not know, and will be shocked to know that our client does not know where Akwa Ibom State government lodge is located, and that our client lives in the officials quarters of INEC in Uyo and this is very well known to you.
“We have the instruction of our client to challenge you or anyone else to post your taunted pictures and videos to the whole world. It will even interest you to know that our client has never visited the home of a human being, son or daughter, or any individual in his home anywhere in Akwa Ibom State since he resumed as the state REC in 2017 and your allegations of being a hatchet man for the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, a ceremonial consultant to the state governor in electoral matters, are misguided and reckless in the extreme.We need you to recognise that the oath of office sworn to by our client remained his guiding rule and his insistence on compliance by political parties and candidates with the laws and rules of INEC is for the overall benefits of our democratic practice where fraud, manipulations, sabotage and manoeuvring of electoral guidelines are completely discouraged.
“Our client’s principled stance against the above vices is the reason for your unjustifiable vituperations against him on a national television. We shall hold you to your words at the appropriate forum and we hope you will not call friends and foes to beg for you when the chips are down,” Onwuenwunor said.
