UNIUYO SUG Election Cancelled as One Feared Dead, Others Wounded

Okon Bassey in Uyo
The election into the Student Union Government (SUG) of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) in Akwa Ibom State has been cancelled on the directive of the authority of the university as one person was feared dead while several others were wounded when cultists and hoodlums invaded the venue of the election.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Enefiok Essien has reportedly expressed concern over the conduct of the election and ordered that it should be cancelled
Fight reportedly broke out at the Town and Annex Campuses of the university, which disrupted the exercise.

The election was earlier cancelled at the Faculty of Social Sciences’ Polling Unit by the Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Aniekan Brown, citing “irregularities and electoral malpractices”.
Aggrieved supporters of one of the candidates said to have been highly favoured to win the election, reportedly stormed other polling units in other faculties, including education, to hijack ballot materials amid gunshots by suspected cultists.

“After the announcement was made by Brown, students from the polling unit moved to disrupt elections going on at other nearby polling units because of what they viewed as orchestrated plan to stop a non-indigene from emerging as the next SUG President”, said Effiong Akpan, a member of the institution’s Faculty of Arts.

“Ballot boxes and other election materials were destroyed at the Faculty of Arts Polling Unit, Faculty of Education and extended to other polling units, including the faculties of Agriculture, Business Administration, Basic Medicals,” he added.

However, the invasion of the polling units in some areas met serious resistance by angry students, who countered it with stones and other missiles.