Akwa Ibom State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the Supreme Court verdict which upheld Emmanuel Udom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the duly elected governor of the state.

But the PDP also fired back, describing the position of the APC as irresponsible.

Rising from its one-day meeting, held in Uyo, on Thursday, the APC elders, members and stakeholders of the party called for a probe of the judgement.

They alleged that the judgement was procured and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the verdict.

The party made its position known in a communique signed by Dr Amadu Attai and Chief Effiong Etuk, chairman and secretary, respectively and made available to Saturday Tribune.

The APC chieftains described the judgement, delivered Wednesday  last week as “obnoxious and objectionable”, adding that they wanted to put on record their utter rejection of the verdict.

They also averred that the judgement, which upturned the petition of the party and its governorship candidate, Umana Okon Umana, was devoid of reason, logic and depth.

“The Supreme Court judgment is a dangerous act of political advocacy that completely ignores the uncontested and overwhelming evidence of the petitioners at the tribunal which had held that the petitioner had proved that there was no valid election in 18 of the 31 location government areas in the state.

“The Supreme Court equally rejected the findings of the Court of Appeal that established, based on over 340 documentary evidences and 50 witnesses, that there was no valid governorship election in all of the 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State on 11 April 2015.

“Some of the evidences tendered by the petitioners, on which the Tribunal and Appeal Court based their decisions include: mutilation of ballot papers and result sheets; lack of collation; over voting; signing of multiple result sheets by one agent and result sheets signed by people who were not agents.

“In addition to these evidences, our candidate and party had also tendered the reports of the United States Embassy; European Union; Nigerian civil society organisations and the Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corp which stated that the governorship election in Akwa Ibom State was marred by widespread irregularities and violence.

“Alluding to these evidences of violence and irregularities, the Honourable Justice Oludotun Adebola Adefope-Okojie, in her lead judgment at the Court of Appeal’ had stated emphatically: ‘I chip in a word of warning. May this country never again experience the violence and thuggery found to have taken place in Akwa Ibom State during the Governorship election held on 11th April 2015.

“Politics should never be so desperate that lives and decorum are sacrificed on the altar of winning at all costs. The descent into almost anarchy as occurred in this case must never again be allowed to take place. The supervising body, INEC, is charged at all times to remain on the side of truth and never be complicit in any subversion of due process.’”, the communique read.

Akwa Ibom APC also recalled that “the case of signing of result sheets in many wards by one person was also well established by the Court of Appeal, based on evidence.”

In Mkpat Enin Local Government Area for instance, it alleged that one Jerry Akpan signed the result sheets in all the 14 wards of the local government area.

“As rightly held by the Court of Appeal, Jerry Akpan couldn’t have been at all the wards simultaneously to sign these documents, a clear evidence that there was no collation at the wards, as we had also presented unchallenged evidence that there was no collation at the state level.

“In the light of the facts of our case and the overwhelming evidence as upheld by both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, we find the judgment of the Supreme Court to be weird, arbitrary and an inexplicable endorsement of violence and electoral fraud.

“Nigerians should then ask the Supreme Court how it reached its findings that Udom Emmanuel was lawfully returned in spite of this glaring evidence of over-voting and other mind-boggling irregularities.

“We are therefore calling on the President and Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari, to probe the judgement of the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Appeal at the Supreme Court.”

Meanwhile, the PDP last night described the position of the APC as irresponsible.

A statement issued by leaders of the party in Akwa Ibom said the APC and its leaders believed their own propaganda that they were going to take over both Rivers and Akwa Ibom, hence their frustration at the position of the Supreme Court on the red cases.

“We have watched with utter disbelief and dismay, the cacophonous utterances bordering on irresponsibility by leaders of the All Progressives Congress since they and their candidates woefully lost their ill advised gambit to illicitly emasculate and trample upon the will of the people expressed through the ballot. While one may be tempted to dismiss their utterances as the sour grapes of a bad loser, their actions, especially in denigrating the sacred pillars of our country, calls into question their understanding of the foundations of Nigeria.

“The APC leaders’ display of irresponsibility started well before the Supreme Court judgements. After the Appeal court nullified the elections in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, Chief John Oyegun, the chairman of the party declared that the party will take over the two states at all cost. He was so emphatic about Akwa Ibom State: ‘I am more than confident of winning Akwa Ibom than any other state in the South-South. We are going to win, that is almost a certainty.’

“At this point, the Supreme Court, the final arbiter in the matter of electoral disputes was yet to reach a determination on the case. It is either Chief Oyegun wanted to intimidate the apex court or believed such inconsiderate pressure will steer and tilt towards a weighting of the decision of the court in their favour. If the former was the case, it is a pathetic commentary on the values of those running the country that they see no institution as too sacred to be debased in their inordinate greed for power. If the latter was the case, it may explain why the Appeal Court nullified the election in the two states, against the run of commonsense and the law.

“It is also possible that the APC leader committed the fatal flaw of believing his own propaganda. Having marketed the lie that there was no election in Akwa Ibom State, and even when they contradicted themselves by claiming there was no election and alleging at the same time that there was over voting, they still believed their lie that they had a case. Unfortunately for him, the courts (especially the Supreme Court) are not theatres of sentiments or propaganda. They are theatres for determining objective reality and that reality was that elections held in Akwa Ibom State and Udom Emmanuel was the winner.”

Those who signed the statement on behalf of Akwa Ibom Leaders caucus of the party are Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, Senator Anietie Okon,Senator Emmanuel Ibokessien, Senator Effiong Bob,  Rt. Hon Ndueso Essien,  Rt. Hon Dr Esio Oquong-Udoh, Chief Okon Essang,  Obong Paul Ekpo and Offiong Akpabio (Obong).