The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Akwa Ibom State under the watch of Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini, is in a tug-of-war with the lawyers of the All Progressives Congress, APC, over the inspection of election materials in respect of ongoing petitions at the tribunal.

Some APC National Assembly candidates including Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North West) and the governorship candidate, Obong Nsima Ekere, had approached the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the state to challenge the outcome of the 2019 elections.

Apart from Akpabio and Ekere’s petitions, the APC also has orders on five House of Representatives petitions served on INEC.

According to INEC officials, inspection on Akpabio’s petition and one House of Representatives petition are still ongoing and were to be concluded, yesterday.

It was gathered that some APC House of Assembly contestants also filed petitions in the tribunal but the orders are yet to be served on INEC as of press time.

•Excerpted from a Vanguard report.

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