Two days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr. Thaddeus Attah as the winner of Saturday’s election for the Eti-Osa Federal Constituency in Lagos, a Lagos-based lawyer Mr. Ayo Ademiluyi has laid claim to the victory.
Ademiluyi alleged on Tuesday that he, not Attah, is the authentic candidate of the party for the election.
He alleged that “cash and carry Labour Party bureaucrats” attempted to sell his ticket “to the highest bidder”.
He said INEC ought not to have declared Attah as the winner because it was aware that the matter is the subject of two pending appeals at the Supreme Court, where it is one of the respondents.
Ademiluyi is one of the lawyers to some #EndSARS protesters at the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)-related abuses and the October 20 Lekki Tollgate shootings.
INEC Returning Officer, Prof Funmilayo Odukoya, declared Attah as the winner on Sunday at the Collation Centre, Lagos State Model Nursery and Primary School, Marwa, Lekki.
“That Thaddeus Attah of LP, having satisfied the law requirement, is now declared the winner and is returned elected, signed by me,” she said.
Attah won with 24,075 votes, beating his counterparts, Mr Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had 18,666 votes, and Mr Babjide Obanikoro of the APC, who had 16, 901 votes.
Attah, a businessman, confirmed the news in a tweet on his Twitter handle.
He said: “BREAKING NEWS!!! I have been declared winner for the House Of Representatives, Etiosa Federal Constituency…. Now it’s time to take the mantle and bring good governance to the people ❤️
“Atta Achief”.
Attah and the Labour Party Spokesperson in Lagos, Olubunmi Odesanya are yet to respond to enquiries on the matter.
Ademiluyi challenged INEC’s declaration in two posts on his Facebook page.
The first was a statement by the Eti-Osa Peoples Movement congratulating him on his “victory” in the polls, while the other was a statement by the lawyer titled “Update on status of our mandate.”
Ademiluyi said: “I emerged as the bonafide candidate of the Labour Party through the Primaries conducted on May 27, 2022, which is the period afforded under the Electoral Act, 2022 and observed by Mr. Adepoju, Electoral Officer, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
“However, as soon as the National Convention of June 1st, 2023 with the emergence of Peter Obi, a flood of new entrants entered the Party.
“The Labour Party national leadership refused to forward my name as they wanted to sell the ticket to the highest bidder
“The Labour Party national leadership refused to forward my name to INEC. But how it worked out was that they went ahead to organise a false ‘substitution’ primary in which Attah, the false claimant to the mandate emerged.”
The lawyer contended that under the Electoral Act, the conditions under which a candidate of the Party can be substituted is death or withdrawal.”
He said: “I am ALIVE and I have never WITHDRAWN. I put it to the false claimant to show the world any LETTER OF WITHDRAWAL.
“If there is any at all, they are FORGED and this constitutes a CRIMINAL OFFENCE.
“The cash and carry Labour Party bureaucrats forwarded Attah’s name to INEC but they refused to publish it.
“They now went ahead to the Federal High Court, Abuja. They lost.
“They went ahead to the Court of Appeal, Abuja and obtained a favourable judgment by concealment by refusing to disclose to the Court of Appeal, who and who they “substituted”.
“All the while, I was at the Federal High Court, Lagos, oblivious of the judgment, asking for an order for INEC to publish names of the authentic candidates who held the primaries within the ambit of the period afforded by the Electoral Act, 2022.”
Ademiluyi said on the day of judgment before Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke, he and his team met members of a group to which Attah belonged.
He added: “When we got wind of the Court of Appeal judgment, we appealed to the Supreme Court.
“Presently, there are two appeals at the Supreme Court, which have not been decided upon.
“INEC as a Respondent joined to the Supreme Court ought to abide by the appeals at the Supreme Court instead of purportedly declaring Attah’s name as the winner.
“We are resolute on our mandate as we press forward to recover the same legally and politically at the Supreme Court and on the streets.”
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
