Akwa Ibom poll: Senator Bob defends his integrity

Former Attorney-General of Akwa Ibom State and two time senator, Senator Effiong Bob, has cautioned the electorate in the South-South state to beware of ‘uninformed minds’ masquerading as patriots who are in the habit of misinforming the public through false media publications.
He was reacting to allegations levelled by the Co-ordinator of Women’s Pro-Climate Federation, Mrs. Ekaette Enitan Sanusi, that Governor Godswill Akpabio, Senator Bob and others rigged Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
Bob, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Anietie Akpan, said while it was not in his character to respond to false media publications, the allegations by Mrs. Sanusi, were worth reacting to.
The statement reads: “Firstly, Senator Effiong Bob has several years of election experience. A two-term Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a one-time Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Akwa Ibom State, and a one-time Deputy Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, he knows that elections are not conducted in private residences but in public places. If Mrs. Ekaette Enitan Sanusi does not know this, we cannot help her. Senator Bob is not one to violate electoral laws.
“Secondly, while Mrs. Ekaette Enitan Sanusi has the freedom to bare her mind on the conduct of the elections, she did not need to use the platform of a non-existent “Women’s Pro-Climate Federation” to do so. It is sad the length people are prepared to go to do the hatchet job for their paymasters.
“It is worth pointing out that as early as 8am on the Election Day, which was the time for accreditation to commence, Senator Effiong Bob was at his polling unit in Ikot Ekwere Primary School in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. Media establishments like the AIT, AKBC-Television and Radio crew, NTA and others were there and interviewed him. The interviews were on air since they were transmitted live on the various networks. One wonders from where Mrs. Sanusi and her “Women’s Pro-Climate Federation” got her information.
“It is our belief that the said Mrs. Ekaette Enitan Sanusi may have noticed, early in the day that her preferred candidate had lost the support of the people and so decided to cry wolf where none existed. Her objective is to arm-twist INEC to cancel the elections, which have been adjudged to be free, fair and credible, at least in Akwa Ibom State.
“While we pardon Mrs. Sanusi for her ignorance of the procedure and methodology adopted by INEC in this year’s elections, which makes rigging difficult if not impossible, we cannot fold our arms and watch her try to give the people of Akwa Ibom State and Senator Effiong Bob a bad name.
“We, therefore, call on all Akwa Ibom people to ignore the likes of Mrs. Ekaette Enitan Sanusi but to continue to turn out en-masse to exercise their franchise in the remaining elections”.