• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

Upgrade Alasoadura to senior minister, APC chieftain urges Buhari

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A chieftain of the ruling  All Progressives Congress (APC), Garus  Gololo has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to upgrade the Minister of  State for Niger Delta Affairs, Omotayo Alasoadura to a senior minister following the prospects of the main Minister, Godswill Akpabio,  going back to the Senate after a court-ordered rerun in his senatorial district.

Gololo, who spoke to BusinessDay in chat on Thursday in Abuja, said Alasoadura is hardworking, humble and has the experience which he can bring to transform the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in line with the Next Level agenda of the president.

“I know that the Niger Delta Ministry will not regret having him a senior minister. I know he will deliver to the president in his Next Level Agenda,” Gololo said.

Alasoadura, probably stands a chance to be upgraded as senior minister if Akpabio is reelected into the Senate.

Akpabio, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was defeated in the   Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District election in 2019 by Christopher Ekpeyong of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Akpabio and his party as the second appellant challenged the matter in court and got a favourable judgment when the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, annulled the election of Senator Christopher Ekpenyong, who until the judgment represented Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District. The court also ordered a rerun within 90 days.

Read Also: Ondo poll: PDP’s Jegede votes after initial hitches, alleges shoddy plans by INEC

The court upheld the election results for Obot Akara Local Government Area, and others disputed by Akpabio and the APC on the grounds that they failed to prove alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election, and the results announced by the INEC.

The court also declared that Akpabio and the APC failed to prove that they won the election in Essien Udim with over 61,000 votes. The court, however, ruled in favour of Akpabio and his party that the election there was characterised by gross irregularities, making the final results announced for the entire Local Government Area by the INEC unreliable.

The court, subsequently, voided Ekpenyong’s election and ordered a rerun in Essien Udim in other to determine the actual winner of the election. This judgment was on the grounds that the area has over 126, 000 registered voters, which is more than the margin of valid votes between the two leading candidates in the election and is enough to determine the actual winner of the election.