A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom, Dr. Blessing Agbomhere, has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, demanding the sacking of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, over allegation of sabotage and partisanship.
Agbomhere said the INEC REC acted in gross violation of the Electoral Act by sabotaging the senatorial elections of Senator Godswill Akpabio after he supervised the cancellation of his votes.
The petition is coming four days after Igini threatened to file a N1bn libel suit against over his continual persecution and alleged defamatory statements.
Igini had sworn to go to court if Agbomhere, a Zonal Organising Secretary of the APC South-South, failed to retract his defamatory statements and tender an apology to him in four major television stations and five newspapers, including The PUNCH.
Agbomhere, who dismissed the threat of N1b suit, told newsmen on Friday that he had written to the National Chairman of INEC, Prof Yakubu Mahmood, for the REC’s dismissal.
In the letter made available to our correspondent, the South-South zonal organising secretary accused Igini of “incessant acts of bias, injustice, sabotage and malevolence meted out on the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State.”
According to him, Igini had since his deployment sabotaged and worked against Akwa Ibom APC even when his position as REC forbids him from becoming partisan or supportive of any political party.
The statement read in part, “That, Mr. Mike Igini be sacked and dismissed within 48 hours from the time of receipt of this petition. That, Mr. Mike Igini be committed to the relevant authorities for prosecution for the violation of Section 26 of the Electoral Act of 2022.”
Reacting to Agbomhere’s allegation, Igini told our correspondent that he won’t give attention to his tantrums because he has a name and image to protect.
The Akwa Ibom REC lamented that it is unfortunate that the PDP elements who had previously accused him of sabotage are presently in APC today and still accusing him of working for the opposition.
