The National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal which convened at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Lagos has rendered the election victory of Mr. Thaddeus Atta of the Labour Party for the Eti Osa Federal Constituency null and void.
In a pivotal judgment delivered late on Monday evening, the tribunal deemed the elections inconclusive and mandated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize a supplementary election within a 90-day timeframe.
This supplementary election is to be conducted in 33 polling units where the elections failed to proceed as planned.
Responding to the ruling on Tuesday through a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Atta conveyed that there was no need for alarm. He clarified that he had not been “sacked” by the court, but rather, the Tribunal had merely called for a re-run or supplementary election in the 32 polling units where the election process had been disrupted. He reassured the constituents that he remained unwavering in his commitment to serve Eti Osa and encouraged them to remain calm, stating, “We will get through this together.”
Bankole Wellington (commonly known as Banky W) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had been declared the runner-up in the original polls, and Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro (IBO) from the All Progressives Congress (APC) had both lodged petitions contesting the outcome of the February 25th election. In that initial election, INEC had declared Atta the winner with 24,075 votes, while Banky W and IBO were reported to have garnered 18,668 and 16,901 votes, respectively.
