Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Mike Igini has disclosed that politicians printed fake result sheets and flew them into Akwa Ibom State on the eve of the elections.
He said the incident occurred 48 hours before the 2019 governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom State, where he served as the Resident Electoral Commissioner.
Naija News reports that Igini recounted his experience during a Trust TV interview on Wednesday.
According to him, he received an intelligence report that politicians had printed fake result sheets, already written results for 26 out of the 31 LGAs in the state, and flown them into Uyo in a chartered aircraft.
He said that as soon as he got to the information, he ran to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Uyo branch, where sensitive materials were kept and began signing and endorsing every original result sheet for the 2,980 polling units in Akwa Ibom.
“Political participants spent millions to print fake result sheets and flew them into Akwa Ibom in a chartered jet. As soon as I got wind of the plot, I went to the CBN Uyo to personally sign and endorse all the original result sheets. It took me five hours,” he said.
According to him, because he endorsed the original sheets, the fake, pre-written results politicians brought in became useless.
He said that saved the 2019 election in Akwa Ibom State from producing a completely different outcome from what voters actually chose at the polling units.
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