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Senator Francis Fadahunsi has clarified his comments at his polling unit in Ilase, Osun State, saying he was advocating assistance for elderly voters who needed help to cast their ballots and avoid inadvertently invalidating their votes.
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 the office said did not capture the full context of the incident at the polling unit.
Fadahunsi, who reportedly cast his ballot within five minutes, was said to have encountered several elderly voters at the polling unit, including some above the age of 90, who required assistance to vote.
According to the statement, some people at the polling unit had objected to providing assistance to the elderly voters, prompting the Senator to intervene after his attention was drawn to the situation.
The Media Office said Fadahunsi appealed to those present to allow elderly voters who required assistance to receive it, stressing that doing so would help them exercise their franchise without mistakenly casting invalid ballots.
“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 was also quoted as warning that failure to assist elderly voters who needed help could result in their ballots being declared invalid.
“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 statement added.
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 failed to show the events leading to Fadahunsi’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 claimed 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 said.
The statement maintained that Fadahunsi’s intervention was aimed at protecting the voting rights of elderly citizens and ensuring that those who required assistance could cast their ballots properly.
It urged the public to consider the full circumstances surrounding the incident rather than draw conclusions from an edited video clip.
The Senator’s Media Office reiterated that Fadahunsi was advocating assistance for eligible elderly voters, not manipulation of the voting process.
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