We’re ready for a rematch with Akpabio, says Akwa Ibom PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State has said that the party was making all necessary arrangements to ensure victory during the rerun ordered by the Appeal Court for Essien Udim local council of the state.

The state party chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo, made the disclosure yesterday during a press conference held at the party’s secretariat in Uyo, the state capital.

The Appeal Court sitting in Calabar had ordered a rerun for Essien Udim local council alone in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District in the elections involving Senator Godswill Akpabio for the senatorial election and Mr. Emmanuel Akpan for the House of Representatives elections.

However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was yet to fix the date for the rerun.

But Ekpo said the party was satisfied with the judgment of the appellate court and was preparing for the elections.

“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 judgments according to law, irrespective of political affiliations.

“This explains why we have accepted all the judgments of the court in good faith, even when one did not go in favour of our party,” he said.

The party urged members that won their cases at the Appeal Court to look inward and see their victory as a call to duty and not a mark of superiority over those that voted them into office.

“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.

“For the rerun in Essien Udim local council 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 these
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 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 energise our grassroots structures in preparation for
our impending roll out,” he added.