A coalition of five northern civil society organisations has rejected calls by 56 civil groups including SERAP and HEDA for Senate President Godswill Akpabio to resign, arguing that he was a victim, not a beneficiary, of electoral fraud in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial race.
In a Thursday press statement signed by Muttaka Ibrahim, Dr Johnny Benjamin, Abdullahi Argungu, Ismail Hassan, and Bawa Arah, the coalition comprising Arewa Revival Project and four other groups accused Akpabio’s critics of distorting facts. They cited court rulings showing that Prof. Peter Ogban, the returning officer convicted in 2021, falsified results in favour of the PDP’s Chris Ekpenyong, not Akpabio.
They noted that both the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal nullified the initial results and ordered a rerun in Akpabio’s stronghold of Essien Udim. Ogban was sentenced to three years in prison for tampering with results against Akpabio’s interest.
The coalition decried what it called misinformation campaigns, urging Nigerians to consult official court records before forming conclusions. They warned that “democracy is undermined when falsehoods are allowed to thrive,” and argued that calling for Akpabio’s resignation on such grounds disrespects both the judiciary and the democratic process.
