Gentlemen of the press,
As you are aware, different panels of the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar have completed their task and have delivered judgements on all appeals emanating from the judgements of the Election Petition Tribunal for the 2019 National and State House of Assembly elections held on February 23 and March 9 respectively. The Appellate Court has upheld all the Tribunal judgements that were given in our favour, except one and the only judgement that was given by the Tribunal against us has been quashed and re-election ordered.
We sincerely appreciate the intellectual industry invested in the delivery of the judgments by the Learned Justices of the Court of Appeal. They have proven to the world that our country’s judiciary is constituted by persons of towering integrity and unbending honesty, applying extant laws to presented facts and delivering judgements according to Law, irrespective of political affiliations. This explains why we have accepted all the Judgements of the Court in good faith, even when one did not go in favour of our Party.
To our successful Lawmakers, whose seats have been judicially confirmed, we urge them to see their mandate as a call to service and not a mark of superiority over their constituents. They should endeavour to reach out to their fellow contestants and share knowledge for the good of the state . A reasonable victor must be magnanimous in victory. We must keep in mind that at the end of the tenure, the verdict of the people will be given on our performance. However, at this instance, all our victorious candidates deserve our congratulatory felicitations.
To our party faithful in Mbo, I urge them to accept the judgement of the court of Appeal reversing our victory at the polls and exhibit political maturity. They must ensure that a peaceful political environment is preserved in the best interest of the Akwa Ibom project.
For the rerun in Essien Udim Local Government area which will hold for the State and National Assembly, we can assure the world that we are making adequate preparations for the elections. We will go to this elections, like we went to the previous, with the name of the Lord and as before, we will win again. Only God saw us through the most turbulent elections in our state’s history and we are more than certain that with HIM at the fore, our victory in all of the rerun elections is sure. Very soon we will roll out our campaign timetable which will be vigorously pursued. We charge our ward and chapter officers in Essien Udim to begin to energize our grassroot structures in preparation for our impending roll out.
We must also sincerely commend all the lawyers who acted on our behalf, especially our legal department led by Goddy Umoh Esq who worked tirelessly to secure the legal victory which has finally confirmed the mandates freely given to our candidates at the polls.
The State Executive Committee and indeed the entire membership of our party is deeply grateful to our Leader, MR. Udom Emmanuel whose selflessness and commitment has been critical to the victories of our candidates.
Akwa Ibom people have been very supportive of our party through the years, renewing our mandate every four years since 1999. We cannot take this support for granted . We will continue to undertake activities geared towards ensuring better democracy dividends .
To God alone be the glory!
