Okonkwo Faults Akpabio, Calls for His Removal

Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has criticized Senate President Godswill Akpabio over the controversy surrounding the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and called for his removal.

Okonkwo made the remarks during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, aired on Channels Television.

He said, “Senator Godswill Akpabio has become an enemy of democracy, persisting in a vicious cycle of election rigging, manipulation, falsification, and subterfuge by trying to maintain the same provision that the Supreme Court has ruled against. That man is an enemy of democracy and should be removed if he does not resign.”

The Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed the Senate’s third reading last week. Clause 60(30) of the bill addresses the electronic transmission of election results. While the Senate retained the provision from the 2022 Electoral Act, it rejected moves for real-time transmission of results and a 10-year ban on vote-buying, instead keeping sanctions in the form of jail terms and fines.