GOVERNOR ADELEKE'S APPEAL AGAINST OYETOLA AND THE APC BEFORE THE APPEALS COURT BEGINS

Ademola Adeleke

On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja began hearing arguments in an appeal brought by Mr. Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the tribunal's decision invalidating his election as governor of Osun State.

At around ten in the morning, the three-judge panel hearing the appeal got started.

In the appeal denoted, Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are the first and second respondents, and Adeleke is the appellant, CA/AK/EPT/GOV/01/2023.

Furthermore included as the third and fourth respondents, respectively, are the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal declared the election of Adeleke of the PDP as governor-elect invalid on January 27.

A total of 403,371 votes were cast in the race, and INEC declared Adeleke the victor.

Gboyega Oyetola

According to reports, he won in 17 out of the state's 30 local government units.

However, in its ruling, the tribunal presided over by Judge Terste Kume ruled the election unlawful and named Mr. Gboyega Oyetola of the APC as the legitimate victor.

The court ordered INEC to revoke the certificates of return that had been given to Adeleke and his appointed replacement, Kola Adewusi.

But, it stipulated that Oyetola should receive the certificate of return in its place.

According to Justice Kume, the governorship election was not conducted in accordance with the Nigerian Electoral Act.

According to the report, Oyetola received 314, 921 votes overall after the extra votes were subtracted.

As a result, the panel mandated Oyetola's reinstatement as governor of Osun State.

In its earlier findings, INEC stated that Oyetola won the July 16, 2022 governorship in 13 LGAs with 375,027 votes.

The state's recently-departed governor, Oyetola, said in his plea that there was over voting in 749 of the polling places during the election.

Additionally, he contended that Adeleke submitted false academic qualifications to INEC in order to run for office.

A few weeks after the governorship election, in August 2022, the tribunal first met.

Oyetola and the APC were the petitioners in the case, and their principal attorneys were Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and Akin Olujimi, SAN.