Rep. Agbedi expressed optimism over the outcome of the forthcoming supplementary election, assuring his supporters that he was going to harvest the contentious 26,000 votes.
The lawmaker representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency, Fredrick Yeitiemone Agbedi, has accepted the judgment of the National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, nullifying his election to the House of Representatives.
The National Assembly Elections Tribunal sitting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state, had on Thursday, September 7, nullified the Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency election contested by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Michael Bless Olomu, and Rep. Fred Agbedi of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 National Assembly election.
Reacting to the verdict shortly after it was passed, Agbedi said he had no intention to test the judgment at a superior court, adding that he was ready for a supplementary election as declared by the court.
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The lawmaker expressed optimism over the outcome of the supplementary election, saying it was his personal decision not to appeal as he was sure he was going to harvest the contentious 26,000 votes.
“For me as the party’s flag bearer, I am ready for the supplementary election. There is no appeal. That’s my personal decision. They said it is 26,000 votes, so we will go and harvest it. The court has given a judgment that in 90 days, go and conduct a supplementary election based on the 26,000 votes that are remaining. If you are a contestant, you prepare yourself to go for the contest.
To all my supporters to remain calm, the PDP family should remain calm. We are ready for the election, and victory is always sure,” Agbedi said.
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The Tribunal ordered the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Agbedi, and conduct a fresh election in twenty-one (21) Polling Units in Wards 3, 4, 5, and 11 of the Sagbama Local Government Area and six (6) polling units in Wards 12 in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the constituency, with a total of 26,000 registered voters unlawfully excluded.
Recall that the APC candidate, Michael Bless Olomu, had prayed the Tribunal to return him as the duly elected winner of the election following violence witnessed during the exercise.
Olomu alleged that the violence orchestrated by the PDP affected five wards, where elections did not take place, but results were collated and announced.
