Akwa Ibom tribunal: Akpabio's case suffers setback as witnesses admit irregularities- Senator Godswill Akpabio seems to be fighting his biggest political battle at the moment - Things may not be going well for the former Akwa Ibom governor in the state's election petition tribunal - Some of the senators's witnesses been consistently incoherent during their appearances in the tribunal The ongoing Akwa Ibom National Assembly tribunal holding at Uyo, the state capital, is throwing up interesting scenarios. Senator Godswill Akpabio's quest to win the case in court suffered a huge setback due to comments made by some witnesses, New Telegraph reports. The first witness for the day (W8), Arc. Ubokutom Nyah, an All Progressives Congress (APC) agent in Ekpenyong-2, Essien Udim local government area during cross examination by the lead counsel to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Solomon Umoh SAN, said his attention was drawn to the fact that his party did not submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). But when confronted with names of accredited party agents by INEC from his unit, Nyah's name was missing. READ ALSO: INEC received N1.47bn for servers for 2019 elections - Report Seconds later, the voters' register of his unit was presented to him, where he identified his name but insisted that the register before him was not genuine. Consequently, Umoh declared before the tribunal that Nyah was not a ward agent for APC at 2019 election. When it was now the turn of counsel to Senator Chris Ekpenyong, Kanu Agabi, SAN, to cross examine the witness, his name was again conspicuously absent from the voters register submitted to INEC as an agent of the party. “I was not privy to see the names submitted to INEC but I was given a ward agent tag,” Nyah said. Asked whether elections held in his ward, Nyah, answered in affirmative that there was accreditation and election in all the units in his ward, however he admitted that he did not witness the exercise in all the polling units but only got the reports and results from what he was told by the unit agents. On his part, the ninth witness for the petitioner, Hon Cletus Udo Akpan of Oruk Obong, Ekpenyong Atai ward 1, during cross examination by Umoh was unable to locate his name on the INEC voters register. He also could not produce a voter's card, prompting Umoh to infer that his inability to produce a valid voter's card means he was not even a registered voter and never voted during election at the said unit contrary to his witness statement. “My Lord, I put it to him that he is not a registered voter, that is why he did not attach his voter's card to his witness statement,” Umoh declared. The witness further contradicted himself when he told the tribunal that accreditation took place in all polling units within his ward but from INEC exhibits presented to him, there are no records. Another witness, Raphael Udoma, admitted that he did not witness accreditation and election in all polling units but relied on hearsay and oral reports from his informants. “I chose to believe my informants who told me that there were elections in their units, I don't believe the reports contained in the exhibits from INEC that elections were cancelled. It is shocking,” Raphael Udoma exclaimed. In response, counsel to PDP admonished him: “Witness, it is shocking because your informants did not tell you the truth. My Lord, he chose to believe his informants who he only heard from, instead of those INEC certified documents he has seen with his eyes.” The tribunal adjourned the session to sit again on Thursday, June 20, when the petitioner is expected to submit its last set of witnesses. READ ALSO: Governorship election: 12 witnesses testify against El-rufai at tribunal Meanwhile, a socio-political group Akwa Ibom Liberation Movement (AILM,) has accused the APC of deliberate attempts to delay the trial and distract the winners of the election. Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, June 17 in Uyo, the leader of the group, Prince Emmanuel Sam expressed worry over the antics of the opposition party. He said: “The trial should have been a straight forward process. If you say the election was rigged, that results were misappropriated or there were irregularities, show proof. It is most uncalled for to hire revelers and brass band to disturb the tribunal in session.” Follow LEGIT to keep pace with the latest news! How Nigeria's democracy has fared in the last 20 years - Jega, Ezekwesili | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - Senator Godswill Akpabio seems to be fighting his biggest political battle at the moment - Things may not be going well for the former Akwa Ibom governor in the state's election petition tribunal - Some of the senators's witnesses been consistently incoherent during their appearances in the tribunal READ ALSO: READ ALSO: