Nigeria, Feb. 18 -- Ata Ikiddeh, a close friend and former aide to Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Nigerian Senate, has falsely claimed that a professor jailed for election fraud rigged the election for Mr Akpabio's opponent.

Mr Ikiddeh, who resides in London, served as an aide to Mr Akpabio on project monitoring when the latter was governor of Akwa Ibom.

Peter Ogban, a professor of Soil Science at the University of Calabar, was the returning officer in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District election. Mr Akpabio was the APC candidate, and Chris Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, was the PDP candidate.

In March 2021, a State High Court in Uyo jailed the professor for three years for election fraud after ...