Nsima Ekere: Gone For Good?

By Umani Uwemedimo

The 2019 general election in Akwa Ibom State is one election people won't forget in a hurry. The election was marked with an intense fright due to series of mouthed threats of war by an unrepentant group of combatants.

While Sen. Akpabio who was the All Progressives Congress, APC candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District promised to unleash the Warsaw experience of the Adolf Hitler invasion of Poland, his Party's gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Nsima Ekere at the other end swore with his blood to employ the services of some highly decorated Niger Delta Militants to tumble the electioneering processes and destroy lives of non supporters. These terrorists he referred in a leaked tape as " Investors", who should not behave like "Contractors".

Unknowingly for them, their asseveration for war would not only expose the mien of men they are to the world, but was also going to send many of their fans into hiding on the election day. None of them wanted to be a casualty of the invasion of APC's combined force of Warsaw and Militants as promised by the duo.

Before they could realize the negative impacts their utterances and boasts had caused, the big fish, Sen. Godswill was mowed on his election day. If such calamity could befall the god of Ukana, APC supporters reasoned it was needless wasting their votes on Nsima whose fate had already been determined by Akpabio's woeful lost. Most of them dumped the Broom party for PDP on the eve of the governorship election, making it totally uneasy for APC to pull the highest votes in even a Local Government Area. Mkpo ndok!

Being dissatisfied with his election's outcome, the Akwa Ibom APC gubernatorial Candidate took a stroll to the Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the victory of his opponent, Mr. Udom Emmanuel who is the re-elected governor of the State. This was ONE mistake made, yet again by him.

Because he lost out in an election that was transparently conducted by someone whose integrity is proven and confirmed by all, including the International Community, Nsima Ekere while filling his petition failed to state a reasonable basis why the election should be annulled. He thought once he offers more money, everything would be changed for his favor. Uwafid ito!

Nsima Ekere who incessantly had bragged of pulling the highest votes in all the 31 Local Government Areas of the State, on reaching the Election Tribunal made himself an object of ridicule by divulging that election did not hold in any polling unit of the State. To be more explicit, Nsima's petition was nothing but an encyclopedia of confusion. Different paragraphs of it contained conflicting assertions. Some of the issues he raised were the issue of over-voting, non-compliance to electoral guidelines, malpractices, no election in any polling unit of the State, APC winning in the 31 LGA, 26 LGA and 2 LGAs respectively. But during cross-examination of witnesses, almost all his witnesses testified that election held and that it was peaceful and free. The incoherence nature of this particular petition was depressing. I wonder how his lawyers managed to cope.

Having seen how obvious his lies were, he made a move to financially induce the Tribunal Judges to rule in his favour but later failed. If he had succeeded, it would have been tantamount to a judicial funeral. How would one who asserted that election did not hold in all the polling unit of the State fail to present his party's unit agents as witnesses? In the absence of the unit agents, who would prove Nsima's claims to be true? Now we know the ground why the petition was dismissed.

Nsima Ekere currently is at the Appeal Court soliciting for the Tribunal's ruling to be reversed. This equally denotes announcing him winner of the election or the election being annulled. From his amended petition, it has been clearly seen that Nsima is gambling with the case. He's yet to ascertain which premise he should hold on.

During the Adoption of Briefs by both parties ( the Appellant and Respondents), Nsima's lead Counsel, S. J. Okutepa SAN faulted the Lower Court, Tribunal for applying technicality in dismissing his party's petition. He admitted that his party's inability to present unit agents as witnesses shouldn't have been one of the basis the petition was dismissed. Wait a minute! If election is conducted in units, isn't it imperative for one to present his party's unit agents as witnesses to further substantiate his claims?

With this, one could possibly deduce that Nsima Ekere has no case at the Appeal Court. We know that he is gone already. But is he gone for good?