What I came to do in Akwa Ibom – Igini

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, said the challenge he faced in the state was that "the people are used to election rigging and drafting results".

Mr. Igini told Uyo at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State on Thursday during his farewell press briefing.

“I came (here) to count the votes, not the money,” he said.

Mr. Igini has spent his last five years serving in Akwa Ibom and is retiring from INEC this month.

He served in Cross River State before being transferred to Akwa Ibom.

The press conference was preceded by a farewell ceremony organized by committee staff in honor of Mr. Igini.

Mr. Igini was dressed in the traditional Akwa Ibom attire.

He looked regal, with a touch of gold from head to toe - a lace cape with gold linings, a black staff with a gold head, locally made black shoes laced with gold materials, his hat, tie and half jacket all had a touch of gold.

“I fought a good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith,” Mr. Igini said, quoting the statement of biblical figure, Paul.

Mr. Igini then unveiled his achievements.

He said the commission, under his watch, discovered and moved 23 polling stations from private homes and political party associates in the state to where they should be.

"Never again will election results in the state be decided in private residences," he added.

The commission, he said, also secured the conviction of a professor for electoral fraud and that another is still being prosecuted for a similar offence.

INEC in Akwa Ibom, under Mr. Igini, also fired a staff member, Sunday Ushie, for tampering with the commission's database on the eve of the 2019 general election.

Mr. Ushie illegally transferred some registered voters from different local government areas of Akwa Ibom to another and also made similar transfers from Akwa Ibom to other states.

INEC has created 1374 new voting units in Akwa Ibom, bringing the total number of voting units in the state to 4354.

Mr. Igini thanked state residents for the "massive" turnout for continued voter registration, saying it would help correct voter apathy seen in the state in previous elections.

Revealing the figures, Mr. Igini said that 39% of registered voters participated in the 2011 general elections in the state, 30% in 2015 and 28% in 2019.

Mr. Igini, a human rights lawyer, was the director of the Center for Leadership and Policy, a civil society organization, before his appointment as REC by former President Goodluck Jonathan in June 2010.

He was reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2017 and served at INEC for ten years.

He was also REC in Edo State. He was posted to Akwa Ibom in September 2017, where he oversaw the 2019 general elections in the state.

Mr. Igini, originally from Delta State, was president of the student union at the University of Benin, where he graduated from the sociology department.

As President of the Student Union, Mr. Igini's advocacy for human rights and a democratic Nigeria endeared him to Moshood Abiola, the winner of the canceled June 12 presidential election 1993, which enlisted him in his team for a better Nigeria.< /p>

Mr Igini...