The National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Lagos has ordered a rerun of the Eti-Osa Federal Constituency election over an inconclusive exercise conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2023 general election in the state.
The Tribunal nullified the return of Thaddeus Atta of the Labour Party as the duly elected representative for Eti Osa Federal Constituency, stressing that many electorates were disenfranchised across 33 polling units where elections did not hold.
In a judgement delivered yesterday, the court directed INEC to conduct a supplementary election within 90 days across the affected polling units in the constituency.
Reacting to the ruling on Tuesday in a post on his official social media handle, Atta said there was no cause for alarm, noting that he was not “sacked” by the court.
“The Tribunal has simply ordered a re-run (supplementary election) in the 32 polling units where elections did not hold.
“We will continue working for Eti-osa.
“I urge constituents to keep calm, as we are unshaken. We will get through this together,” he said.
Bankole Wellington (Banky W) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was declared second in the polls, and the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro (IBO) had both filed petitions to challenge the elections of February 25.
In that election, INEC declared Atta, who scored 24,075 votes, the winner, while Banky W and IBO were said to have scored 18,668 and 16,901 votes, respectively
