In a significant development, the Election Petition Tribunal convened in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, issued a pivotal ruling on Thursday. The tribunal decreed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must oversee a new election in specific polling units within the Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency of the state.
Moreover, the tribunal went on to instruct INEC to promptly rescind the Certificate of Return that had previously been awarded to Chief Fred Agbedi, a prominent member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
In a bid to rectify the electoral process, the tribunal further mandated INEC to conduct a fresh election, enabling approximately twenty-six thousand voters who had been unjustly excluded from the initial election to exercise their democratic rights. This ruling signifies a significant step towards ensuring fairness and inclusivity in the electoral process.
Recall that Michael Bless Olomu of All Progressive Congress (APC) had approached the court contesting the election.
Olomu contended that he should be declared the rightful winner of the election due to incidents of violence that marred the electoral process.
He alleged that the violence, which was allegedly engineered by PDP had a significant impact on the election’s integrity.
He stated that elections did not take place in five wards yet results were collated.
These wards include Ward 5 (Ebedebiri), Ward 11 (Ofoni, Sagbama Local Government Area), Ward 12 (Ekeremor Local Government Area), along with Wards 3 and 4 in Ofoni, Sagbama Local Government Area.
Responding, Chief Fred Agbedi said, he was ready to take part in the supplementary election.
