APC Denies Forgery Case Against Akwa Ibom Chairman, Asks Police To Stop Arrest

The All Progressives Congress, APC has strongly rebuffed claims of forgery made against the Akwa Ibom State chairman of the party, Stephen Ntukekpo insisting that attempts to arrest him for such should be stopped forthwith.

The national secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore in a letter to the Inspector General of Police affirmed that internal party investigations also rebuffed the allegations of forgery against Ntukekpo alleging that the issues against him were raised out of political bias.

The letter was also copied to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and Deputy Inspector General, Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID).

The APC in the letter further reiterated that Ntukekpo was the recognised chairman of the state chapter of the party based on what it claimed as the subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, and as acknowledged to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC by the commission’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.

The letter reads:

“Our attention has been drawn to news reports on the attempt by the Nigerian Police to arrest and arraign the state chairman of APC in Akwa Ibom State, Stephen Leo Ntukekpo, on a purported charge of forgery in respect of our party’s state congress held on October 16, 2021. “Further information has it that the said contemplated charge is predicated on the complaint by one Sheriff Banki, who served as the Adhoc Committee Chairman of the APC State Congress Committee and alleged that his signature on the final sheet was forged.

“As the party that authorised and conducted the state congress, we wish to state that the said Sheriff did not act alone in the said Congress Panel, but acted in concert with five other persons inclusive of the Secretary, Sule Yakubu. “We have verified Mr. Banki’s allegation vis a vis the contention of the other members of the committee, including the documents submitted, and we have no doubt whatsoever that no signature was forged or document altered.

“We have in our custody thirty-six congress result sheets clearly signed by the said Sheriff Banki as chairman and Sule Yakubu as secretary, which result sheets were duly authenticated by other members of the Congress Committee and therefore, have no doubt as to their veracity as it relates to the true and final outcome of the state congress as submitted to the National Secretariat of our party, APC.

“We consider any claims to forgery as an afterthought and intended to serve the interest of our erstwhile Secretary of the Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, who has since left our party to become the guber candidate of NNPP for the 2023 governorship race in Akwa Ibom State.

No Forgery Case Against Our Akwa Ibom Chairman – APC

“For the avoidance of doubt, it may be necessary that you direct the 36 result sheets, which are hereby attached with the relevant signatures therein, for further forensic analysis towards authenticating the signatures thereon.

In that respect, we sincerely believe that the NPF Forensic Lab, Alagbon Close, Lagos would be helpful.

“Permit us to bring to your notice that the Secretary of that Congress Committee for Akwa Ibom State, Sule Yakubu, had long dissociated himself from any allegation of alteration on the sheets and sworn to an affidavit to that effect on the issue of Stephen Ntukekpo’s alleged signature forgery.

“Finally, we state that the congress in issue was authorised and conducted by the National Secretariat of the APC and the results arising therefrom after due processes in line with the provision our guidelines were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the authentic result of the Akwa Ibom State Congress.

“We stand firmly by that result, including the score sheets per position as submitted.”

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