Umana pressures to Change Akwa Ibom Tribunal Judge

The Akwa Ibom State Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Umana Umana [pictured above] is reportedly mounting pressures on the ‘authorities’ to substitute the head of the three man panel

of judges in charge of the case, Justice Sadiq Umar.

Indications show that the APC, having been unable to establish that elections were not conducted in Akwa Ibom, hence their expected failure at the tribunal, have resorted to accusations that the tribunal judges are biased in favor of the PDP. 

It is believed that the APC foresees failure at the tribunal and has resorted to blackmailing the tribunal judge to whip public sympathy and muster the goodwill from their members as it prepares for an appeal.

A young lawyer who is working closely with the legal team of APC confided with our source that, “you see, the fact that the judges are unfair to us at the tribunal doesn’t change anything, because we are already preparing for an appeal …”

The source disclosed further that, “our leader (Umana) had thought that even if the tribunal judge refuses to be bribed, he should play along with them in line with President Buhari’s desire for a change mantra in Akwa Ibom leadership.

My investigations reveal that most supporters of Umana Umana had since grown restless and joined in supporting Governor Udom Emmanuel, and Umana’s popularity is on a steady decline in his home state.

But as one who does not belief in giving up so easily, Umana has engaged the services of powerful social and terrestrial media propagandists from the western part of the country to deceive his ignorant supporters that he is recording progress at the tribunal so that when his defeat is announced, it would be seen as a wrong decision by the judge.  

“We are not worried because our leader has the ears of Mr President, and very soon this tribunal judge will be replaced, like it was done in the case of Rivers State tribunal,” the source revealed, maintaining that APC cannot afford to allow PDP to control Akwa Ibom and Rivers State.

It would be recalled that the embattled President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa who is on vacation at Australia controversially changed the former chairman of the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal, Justice Mu’azu Pindiga on the premise of pressure from the powers that be.  The new chairman, Justice Mohammed Ambrosa commenced hearing immediately without waiting for a pending ruling of the Appeal Court.

Umana who joined the APC having losing out in the PDP governorship primaries is said to have used his strong financial might to curry favour from the APC’s power brokers in Lagos, and was given the governorship ticket of the party even though he joined the party on the eve of the governorship primaries.

Stay tuned.

By Jumbo Usen