Plans have allegedly thickened to challenge the outcome of the 10th Senate Presidential election in court on grounds that the ballot papers used in the election were serially barcoded.
The aftermath of the election of the presiding officers in the 10th senate is still creating tension as some senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has reportedly been considering dumping the party fo the opposition.
Reports has it that 22 aggrieved senators are concluding plans to defect to the opposition which will give the opposition the majority in the senate which will mean that the opposition would have 72 senators while the APC would be left with 37 senators.
Meanwhile the immediate past Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu had in a video he shared on his Facebook page, debunked the reports stating that the June 13 election held to determine who becomes the Senate President was free and fair.
Kalu had said, “Let me be honest with you, the election in the Senate was very transparent. Senator Akpabio won the election. It was free; it was fair. I congratulate the Clerk of the National Assembly. I congratulate the Clerk and all the staff of the Senate. You know, I cannot lie against my conscience. Akpabio won the election hands down.
Kalu said there are no two Senates in the history of the Senate. “There is only one Senate. June 13 was the day we decided to have one Senate”.
However, some Senators who spoke on condition of anonymity have disagreed with Kalu’s statement, as two senators from the North East who shared similar opinion about the election said the election was manipulated against the candidature of Senator Abdul’aziz Yari.
Speaking under anonymity, one of the senators said, “ Even though the election has been held and Akpabio emerged, there are still questions surrounding his victory.
“The ballot papers were tampered and compromised. The ballot papers were serially barcoded such that the idea of secret balloting never existed. Some senators were forced to vote against their will. These actions were not only undemocratic but unconstitutional and embarrassing.
“A lot of senators who voted for Akpabio did so under compulsion and threat. They never wanted him to be President. We are interested in telling the world how barcode was used to rig the election. Why should an electoral process be tampered with?”.
Until it is determined “there would be too many other questions to answer in the 10th senate. This is the first time ballot papers will have barcode” a senator said.
Two other senators from North West, another from the South West and one from South East spoke said they are sharing the same opinion
The senator from North West noted, “An election that was supposed to be secret balloting was manipulated and compromised.
“We believe that the right thing must be done to avoid international embarrassment. What happened on the June 13 was against the Senate rule. We will challenge the process and make sure that the electoral processes are not tampered with in the future”.
