Akwa Ibom State assembly swears in APC member

The Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly has sworn in the only member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 26-member House, Effiong Johnson.

Speaker of the House, Aniekan Bassey, swore in Johnson, who represents Mbo State Constituency during yesterday’s plenary.

The oath of office and allegiance was administered on Johnson following the Appeal Court judgement that nullified the election of Okon Frank of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar had recently declared Johnson, who contested the election under the APC winner of the 2019 House of Assembly Elections in Mbo.

Frank of the PDP was until his sack, Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum.

Earlier, Bassey informed the House that Johnson had submitted all relevant documents and a certified true copy of his Certificate of Return (CoR) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the House.

The Speaker said as lawmakers, the House would always obey the rule of law, which according to him remained the hallmark of democracy.

He congratulated Johnson on his swearing in and urged other members of the House to give him the necessary support to enable him to succeed in his new assignment.

Since the nation’s democratic governance in 1999, the PDP has controlled the state and the 26-member House of Assembly.

However, in the Seventh Assembly, the PDP now has 24 members, APC one, while Essien Udim state constituency’s seat still remains vacant, as INEC has not announced its result.

With the appeal court verdict that the result of the constituency was not announced and therefore Nse Ntuen of the APC could be deemed the duly elected member to represent the constituency.