The National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Bayelsa State has invalidated the election of Fred Agbedi, the incumbent member representing Sagbama-Ekeremor Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Justice Sylvester Odili, presiding over the tribunal, rendered this decision on Thursday in Yenagoa in response to a petition, marked EPT/BY/HR/01/2023, filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Michael Olomu.
In the February 25 House of Representatives polls, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Agbedi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, as the winner with 21,430 votes, while Olomu secured 8,899 votes.
Furthermore, the tribunal nullified the certificate of return previously issued to the PDP candidate.
The tribunal also ordered INEC to conduct a supplementary election within 90 days in specific polling units and wards situated in Sagbama and Ekeremor Local Government Areas (LGAs), where the electoral process was disrupted by violence and irregularities.
The tribunal’s decision was based on its finding that significant non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022 by INEC had a bearing on the election results in the identified polling units and wards.
Specifically, the affected areas identified for a re-run election include 17 polling units in Wards 10, 11, and 12 of Ekeremor LGA, six polling units in Ward 11, and all polling units in Ward 5 of Sagbama LGA. The total number of registered voters in these areas is 26,471, and they were disenfranchised due to violence and irregularities.
In response to the verdict, Fred Agbedi expressed his readiness to participate in the forthcoming supplementary polls in an interview with journalists after the judgment was delivered.
He said, “That is justice served and I’m ready for the supplementary election. No appeal, that’s my personal decision.”
On his part, Olomu said he would consult his party and lawyers on the next step to take on the outcome of his petition.
He said, “This is a clear indication that in the 25th of February election, I clearly won, as stated by the tribunal. 26,000 plus votes were not given to me. And the court has said that we should go for a re-run. I will consult the party and my lawyers and a decision will be taken immediately.”
