Nigerian Singer and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP for the Eti-Osa House of Representatives seat in the last election, Bankole Wellington has expressed his delight over the tribunal’s judgement on his petition.
Recall that the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State on September 12, called for a supplementary election for the Eti-Osa House of Reps seat, within 90 days.
Reacting to the tribunal’s verdict, Banky W in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday, said the people of Eti-Osa have been given a second chance and can now exercise their franchise. He said almost 29,000 eligible voters were denied their constitutional rights due 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”.
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