Akpabio absolves self from bribery allegation against tribunal judges

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Senator Godswill Akpabio has
denied the allegation that he bribed the Chairman and members of
the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Akwa Ibom
State.

Akpabio was responding to media reports that he bribed the
tribunal chairman and members to upturn victory in his favour in
his ongoing legal battle to reclaim his mandate from his opponent,
Senator Chris Ekpenyong of Akwa Ibom Northwest senatorial
district.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Anietie Ekong,
Akpabio said he could not have been privy to the allegations made
against the Judicial Officers because as a Senior Member of the Bar
and a Party in the matter pending before Their Lordships, he
understood the need to allow the Judges to decide the cases
according to the facts.

According to the statement: “Moreover, Senator Akpabio as the
Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs cannot be said to be
desperate to win a Senate seat but he is only contesting the
outcome of the INEC manipulated results in order to ensure Justice
and sustenance of democratic practice in Nigeria.

“Senator Akpabio is shocked by the spurious allegation made by
the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State, Barrister Uwemedimo Nwoko,
in a rejoinder to the said article, alleging that he “succumbed to
blackmail and handsomely paid Barrister Leo Ekpenyong to
recapitulate.”

“The fact is that Ekpenyong withdrew the petitions against
Senator Akpabio voluntarily, when his clients made a volte face and
could not substantiate their claims as contained in Ekpenyong’s
affidavit which he swore to before a court of law as evidence of
voluntary withdrawal of those false petitions.

“Moreover, Ekpenyong’s client as mentioned in the stated
affidavit is linked to the current Government of Akwa Ibom State
and its officials.

“As an elder statesman, a serving Minister of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, a former
Minority Leader of the Nigerian Senate and a former boss to
Barrister Nwoko, decorum demands that he accords Senator Akpabio
some respect. The Attorney General should substantiate his wild
allegation or offer an unreserved apology to Senator Akpabio.

“Senator Akpabio is a democrat who believes in the rule of law,
and this informed his decision to approach the Tribunal after the
charade by the Mike Igini-led Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State.

“Having attended many sessions of the Tribunal and indeed
testified as a Competent Witness, Senator Akpabio is confident that
justice will be done.

“He has an abiding faith in the judicial system to dispense
justice without fear or favour, affection or ill will. He does not
believe that any member of the Panel has a propensity to tarnish
his hard- earned reputation by engaging in “judgement for sale” as
alleged.

“The Attorney General should also have reprimanded his PDP
stalwart, Dr Chris Ekpenyong, whose aides have severally alleged on
social media of attempts to influence the Panel judges in favour of
APC with the sum of N5 billion.

“At the moment, the Honourable Minister is preoccupied with
settling down in his new national assignment and would not want to
be dragged into a matter he knows nothing about.”

The Minister cautioned paid agents of the Akwa Ibom State
Government to allow the Judges to dispense justice without fear or
favour since, according to him, the continuous and relentless
sponsored adverts, were aimed at creating fear, intimidation and
were capable of truncating the popular will of the people freely
given to the APC.

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Rice Smuggling: Nigeria Risks Loss of $400m if.. as
RIPAN Backs Border Closure

Rice Processors Association of Nigeria(RIPAN) has said Nigeria
risks the loss of over $400 million to rice smuggling if the over
one million metric tonnes of the commodity is allowed to enter the
country from Benin Republic.

National Chairman of RIPAN Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Maifata and
his vice-chairman, Mr Paul Eluhaiwe disclosed this to journalists
Thursday in Abuja after an intensive border and port survey by the
association.

The RIPAN boss also said that at present, about half a million
metric tonnes of the commodity have already been booked in Thailand
for onward journey to Nigeria preparatory to the Christmas
season.

This, according to the chairman, would no doubt have a ripple
effect on rice processors in the country as their activities would
be hampered if this impending illegal importation is not checked
with the attendant colossal loss of over $400 million.

According to him, the closure of the Nigerian Benin Republic
border would go a long way to curb the menace of rice smuggling so
that local producers would have a breather, adding that the
association supports the current border closure by the
government.

Economic Confidential recalls early this year when RIPAN cried
out to the federal government that despite concrete and visible
interventions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) via the Anchors
Borrowers Programme (ABP) on the rice sub-sector of the Nigerian
economy, over 70 percent of rice in Nigeria markets remain foreign
or imported.

RIPAN and other stakeholders had in a three-week survey on the
rice market across the six geopolitical zones in the country
observed that foreign rice such as Mama Gold, Royal Stallion, Rice
Master, Caprice, Falcon Rice and Basmati are sold alongside
Nigerian rice.

He said his association join other stakeholders in the rice
subsector, namely, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), in
commending the central bank of Nigeria(CBN) for the timely
intervention and banning of rice since 2015, a development that has
seen growth in local production of rice and serious saving of
foreign exchange.

He commended the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its current
and rigorous fight against smuggling of the commodity and enjoined
the various security agencies who are mandated by the current
directive to raise the bar of the fight to check the various porous
borders.

By PRNigeria^[1]