Tribunal Nullifies Election, Orders Rerun in Banky W’s Federal Constituency

The National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos State, has nullified the election victory of Thaddeus Atta from the Labour Party as the duly elected representative for Eti Osa Federal Constituency.

In a late-night ruling handed down on Monday, the tribunal declared the elections to be inconclusive and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to hold a new election in all polling places where voting was not possible within 90 days.

Both the All Progressives Congress candidate, Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro, and Nigerian singer and actor Bankole Wellington, also known as Banky W, of the Peoples Democratic Party, who was declared the runner-up in the February 2023 election, had petitions filed challenging the election results.

Atta received 24,075 votes, beating out Banky W and Obanikoro, who received 18,668 and 16,901 votes, respectively, according to the electoral umpire.

The All Progressives Congress candidate Ibrahim Obanikoro responded to this on Tuesday morning on his official Instagram account (@repibrahimobanikoro), confirming it and praising the judges “for this ruling which adheres to the components of the Constitution.”

“It was all smiles at the tribunal court when it was confirmed that there would be a supplementary election in several polling units under the Eti-Osa Federal constituency where the election did not take place. I believe that our justice system is on the right track and I praise the judges for this ruling which adheres to the components of the Constitution. Work starts now.”

As monitored by our correspondent, he had shared on his Instagram story that, “The Feb 25 election has just been rightly declared inconclusive and supplementary elections have been ordered by the court. INEC has been ordered to withdraw the return certificate and conduct elections in areas where it didn’t hold on Election Day.”

In a post shared by Atta of the LP on his X handle (@_JtAtta) on Tuesday morning, he disclosed he was not sacked and there is “No cause for alarm.”

“I am here to clarify that I was not sacked. 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 added.

In a post similar to the reaction to the election, Banky W, on Monday night wrote “It is possible. Still,” on his X  verified handle.