Opposition Peoples Democratic Party has applauded the decision of a High Court in Akwa Ibom to jail Professor Peter Ogban of the University of Calabar for manipulating election results.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had dragged Ogban, a professor of Soil Science who acted as the Returning Officer in the 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom North-west, before the court for falsifying results of the poll and publishing same.
He was said to have manipulated election results in favour of Godswill Akpabio, the then-APC candidate.
The High Court found him guilty of the charges and, consequently, sentenced him to three years imprisonment.
Hours after the sentence, the PDP commended the court’s judgment, saying it would serve as a deterrent to others who may want to manipulate future elections.
In a statement issued on Thursday, March 25, by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the PDP, alleged that the APC bribed some professors to rig the 2019 general election for its candidates.
He said the ruling would serve as a deterrent to electoral officials who are planning to work for the APC “to subvert the will of the people” in 2023.
