Tribunal judgement: Eti-Osa people can exercise their franchise – PDP chieftain, Bankole Wellington
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for the Eti-Osa House of Representatives seat in the last election, Bankole Wellington has expressed excitement over the tribunal’s judgement on his petition.
News Men recalls that the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State on September 12, ordered a supplementary election for the Eti-Osa House of Reps seat.
The tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct a supplementary election in 32 polling units in the constituency within 90 days.
INEC had declared Thaddeus Attah of the Labour Party, LP, winner of the election but the PDP candidate approached the court, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the election.
Delivering judgement on the petition, the court on Monday last week, nullified the return of Thaddeus and ordered supplementary polls.
Reacting to the tribunal’s verdict, Banky W in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday, said the electorates who were allegedly disenfranchised during the poll, now have a second chance to make their choices.
According to him, about 29,000 eligible voters were denied their constitutional rights following intimidation, vote suppression and other electoral malpractices.
He said, “I am grateful that the tribunal agreed that when it comes to the matter of electoral processes, every voice deserves to be heard and every voice deserves to be counted.
“What we saw in Eti-Osa which probably reflected in every other part of the country is that there were several polling units where elections didn’t happen.
“In some places, there was voter suppression, intimidation and in some places there was violence, in some places INEC officials showed up but there were no ballots.
“From our calculations, about 29,000 people were not able to participate in the election, which is their constitutional right.
“I’m glad that the tribunal saw merit in our petition. The people who were denied their rights now have a second chance”.
