OSUN State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has rejected the judgement of the election tribunal which Friday annulled his election and declared ex-governor, Gboyega Oyetola, the winner.
Governor Adeleke has also issued a statement declaring that he is challenging the judgement of the tribunal at the Court of Appeal.
The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal had on Friday morning declared former Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the rightful winner of the election.
The tribunal also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and issue the same to Oyetola.
In his reaction, Governor Adeleke called the judgement “a miscarriage of justice.” A statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, quoted Governor Adeleke faulting the judgement of the tribunal, describing it as “an unfair interpretation against the will of majority of voters.”
“I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done. Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate,” Governor Adeleke declared.
The judgement
The tribunal, led by Justice Terste Kume, held that the governorship election was not held in compliance with Nigeria’s Electoral Act. According to the panel, the election was characterised by over-voting.
The tribunal said after deducting the excessive votes, the figure former Governor Oyetola polled at the election was 314, 921, and ordered that he should be returned as governor of Osun State.
Adeleke had been declared the winner with a total of 403,371 votes. He won in 17 of the 30 LGAs in the state, while Oyetola of the APC won in the remaining 13 LGAs with 375,027 votes.
Fifteen candidates contested for the governorship election but it was keenly contested between Adeleke and Oyetola.
In his petition, Oyetola, claimed that the election was characterised by over-voting in 749 polling units. He also argued that Adeleke forged the academic credentials he submitted to INEC to contest for the election.
