The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has commended the ruling of a High Court, which convicted Professor Peter Ogban for declaring results in favour of Godswill Akpabio and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
CACOL Director, Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, in a statement on Monday, noted that Ogban of the University of Calabar, Cross River, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for the electoral fraud he committed during the 2019 election in Akwa Ibom.
The Professor of Soil Physics and Conservation acted as the Returning Officer during the National Assembly election. He stood trial on two counts of manipulating and falsifying scores of election results in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo Local Government Areas.
CACOL hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the diligent investigation and probe urged the umpire to look into other claims of rigging.
The body regretted that a university don, expected to be a very respectable person in the society and worthy in learning and character, betrayed the trust reposed in him by the state.
“How can he mentor the young ones who look up to him for guidance? Little wonder then, why our educational system continues to produce half baked graduates when those who were supposed to teach them are engrossed in questionable and corrupt activities.
“Manipulation of election results had been with us since independence and it has robbed the nation of selfless leaders who were supposed to represent their constituency and have the backing of the people in their constituencies.
“We want to believe that this case will not be a flash in the pan and other cases of electoral frauds will also be judiciously prosecuted and the culprits made to face the consequence of their acts as a just supper”, the statement added.
