Senator Francis Fadahunsi has clarified comments he made at his polling unit in Ilase, Osun State, saying he was advocating assistance for elderly voters to prevent them from casting invalid ballots, and not asking anyone to manipulate the voting process.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued by the Senator’s Media Office on Saturday in response to a video circulating on social media which, according to the office, did not present the full context of what transpired at the polling unit.
Fadahunsi, who was given the honour of voting early, reportedly spent no more than five minutes at the polling station after casting his ballot.
According to the statement, there were several elderly voters at the polling unit, including people aged above 90, who required assistance in casting their votes. While some individuals at the polling unit resisted the assistance being offered to the aged voters, the Senator intervened after his attention was drawn to the situation.
The Media Office explained that Fadahunsi appealed to those present to allow elderly voters who needed assistance to receive it so that they would not inadvertently cast invalid votes.
“He appealed that the aged and elderly should be allowed to receive assistance where necessary so that they would not vote wrongly or cast invalid votes,” the statement said.
The Senator also reportedly cautioned that if elderly voters were not assisted and their ballots subsequently became invalid, questions could arise as to why they were not assisted in the first place.
“His point was that if they are not assisted and their votes eventually become invalid, questions will be asked as to why they were not assisted,” the Media Office quoted him as saying.
The clarification followed the circulation of a video posted by the Accord Party campaign spokesman, which the Senator’s Media Office described as incomplete and misleading.
The office alleged that the video had been cut midway and therefore failed to capture the circumstances that led to the Senator’s intervention.
“The video posted by the Accord Party campaign spokesman was cut midway and does not represent what actually transpired at the polling unit. It is a complete misrepresentation of the Senator’s position and the circumstances surrounding his comment,” the statement said.
The Media Office further stated that correspondents of The Guardian, Tribune and Daily Independent were present at the polling unit and witnessed the incident.
“The correspondents of The Guardian, Tribune and Daily Independent were present and witnessed what transpired. They can corroborate the facts and provide an independent account of what happened,” it added.
The statement stressed that the Senator’s intervention was specifically about ensuring that elderly voters were able to exercise their franchise without inadvertently invalidating their ballots.
It urged members of the public to consider the full circumstances surrounding the incident rather than relying on an edited video clip.
Fadahunsi’s Media Office maintained that the Senator’s position was aimed at protecting the voting rights of elderly citizens and ensuring that their ballots were validly cast.
