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The All Progressive Congress, APC, Akwa Ibom State chapter, has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is trying to sabotage police investigation on an alleged illegal possession of card readers by a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The Chairman of the party, Mr Ini Okopido made this known yesterday during a press briefing at the party’s secretariat, Uyo, the state capital.
                According reports that an INEC staff, Ejike Nwankwo was arrested by the Akwa Ibom State police command over possession of some card readers in the trunk of his car. Speaking to reporters, however, Okopido said: “This press conference is called to update you on the recent arrest by the police of an INEC staff for illegal possession of some card readers used in the last elections. As you are aware, earlier this week the Akwa Ibom State police command paraded a staff of INEC, Mr. Ejike Nwankwo, who was arrested with some card readers in the trunk of his car. These card readers, we understand, were some of those used during the last general elections. We believe that the card readers found with Mr. Nwankwo were some of those pre-loaded card readers used in rigging the elections in favour of the PDP and Udom Emmanuel, he said.
                The party chair, who alleged that the PDP are mounting pressure on the police to kill the matter, explained that the aim is to show that such event did not happen. Why are Akwa Ibom State government officials and PDP chieftains in the state piling pressure on the police to kill this matter? They are putting pressure on the police, so that it shows that the matter did not exist,” he said. We wish to thank the police for their diligence and hard work in making this arrest which has undoubtedly brought to the fore dubious machinations of INEC under Mike Igini, the REC. We thank God that the Nigerian police is up-to-date and we believe that they will do their investigations unravel the circumstances of the illegal possession of those devices. We request the police to get to the bottom of this stranger-than-fiction drama,” he added.
                Okopido also raised concern on the collaboration between PDP and INEC, adding that such relationship is questionable and suspicious as it is abnormal for a political party to defend INEC. Gentlemen of the Press, have you noticed the speed with which PDP chieftains in the state and officials of Akwa Ibom State government rise to defend Mike Igini’s illegal actions? Isn’t it pretty curious that members of a political party that contested a disputed election have now turned themselves into INEC’s spokespersons? It simply means that PDP and INEC in Akwa Ibom are one and the same thing. They have fused together like husband and wife, he said.