A letter purportedly written by
Godswill Akpabio, former governor of Akwa Ibom, to request additional security
support in order to suppress voting in the state has been trending on social
media.
The letter, dated November 15,
2018 and addressed to the chief of staff to the president, Abba Kyari, also
requested the full support of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) in order to capture Akwa Ibom for the All Progressives Congress (APC) —
which Akpabio defected to in 2018 having been the senate minority leader for
three years when he was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Akpabio” also said he had
secured a large expanse of land for cattle settlement and was going to build a
mosque in Uyo with the first three months of APC governorship if they won.
The letter was curiously signed
off twice — “yours sincerely” in print and “yours faithfully” in handwriting.
This would suggest that his
signature and handwritten greeting were copied from another letter and
super-imposed.
HERE IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE
LETTER.
Gratitude for your marvellous
support to Akwa Ibom APC
On behalf of my family, the
governorship candidate and the entire members of the APC in Akwa Ibom State, I
formally convey my profound gratitude to you for the excellent and unbridled
support you have given to the party to ensure that our dear party wins Akwa
Ibom in the fast-approaching.
Recall that during my visit last
year, I had promised the President that:
A cattle settlement will be
established in Akwa Ibom State once we win the governorship election. In
consonant with that promise, I have ahead of the election acquired and secured
79 hectares of land in Ikono and Ini Local Government Areas in my senatorial
district for the first phase of the project. We intend to start with a
veterinary hospital to avoid suspicion from the citizens of the state.
A befitting mosque to be built in
Uyo within the first three months of the new government, to complement the one
in Eket. This project has been fully paid for by NDDC through a contractor who
is a loyal party member.
However, to dot the Is and cross
the Ts with absolute certainty, we will please require additional support as
follows:
Additional contigent of security
operatives to suppress voters and discourage voter’s turnout in PDP
strongholds.
Full cooperation by INEC
i.INEC should give us result
sheets and other materials ahead of time, preferably two days before the
election
ii. Allow us access to
uncollected PVCs especially in areas where the PDP still has strong presence
iii. Create additional 382
polling stations for ease of using uncollected PVCs
iv. In challenging cases,
cancellation of elections/results in areas where the PDP would want to muster
strength in order to enhance the position of the party.
May I reiterate that we are committed and
determined to capture the state at all cost: no blood will be spared.
Permit me to reaffirm the
assurances of our highest esteem.
Yours sincerely,
His Excellency
Senator (Dr) Godswill Akpabio,
CON.
However, the letter has been
described as “fake and forged”.
Anietie Ekong, special assistant
(media) to Godswill Akpabio, has issued the following rebuttal, which he shared
with TheCable.
Re: Gratitude for your marvelous
support to Akwa Ibom APC
The attention of the former
Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial
District, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON has been drawn to a forged letter
purportedly written by him to the Chief of Staff to the President titled:
“Gratitude for your marvelous support to Akwa Ibom APC” and making the rounds
in the social media.
We wish to state categorically
that the letter never emanated from the Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio.
It is a poorly crafted piece of forgery and the figment of the imagination of
the authors.
A cursory look at the letter
reveals the fakeness of the contents. For instance, the complimentary closing
line reads, “Yours sincerely” and “Yours faithfully” in one letter!
With an imminent defeat in the
coming polls, we have always known that desperate politicians will be up to
some tricks to gain some political mileage, but we never imagined they could go
to the extent of committing forgery just to malign an opponent.
Fortunately, the perpetrators are
not ghosts. We have alerted security agencies to be on the look out for those
who have either published or shared the sham document for an invitation to shed
more light on its source.
Once again, we wish to assure the
teeming supporters of Senator Godswill Akpabio and the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State and beyond to remain focused, steadfast and
unshaken in their commitment to resoundingly vote for President Muhammadu
Buhari and all candidates of the party in the coming elections.
According to the immortal words
of the great Spanish writer, Miguel de Cervantes, “truth will rise above
falsehood as oil above water.”
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The letter from Senator Akpabio, forged or real, has been read. In addition, the effort by Anietie Ekong to describe it as "forged" has also been read. The reasons advanced by him to declare it a "forged" document are inadequate to prove it as such. It is important to know who owns the signature on the letter. Is it "forged" or that of Senator Akpabio? The contents of the letter are too weighty to be wished away. Does this not amount to a high level of corruption?
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