Court orders rerun in Banky W’s federal constituency

For Banky W there might be light at the end of the celebrity’s political tunnel.

The National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Lagos has ordered a rerun of 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.

It 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 night, 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 the court did not sack him.

“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 Etiosa. I urge constituents to keep calm as we are unshaken. We will get through this together,” he said.

Read also Tribunal affirms election of APC candidate for Kastina-Ala, Ukum/Logo

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 had declared Atta who scored 24,075 votes as the winner, while Banky W and IBO were said to have scored 18,668 and 16,901 votes, respectively.