Osun state governorship election tribunal case has taken another twist as an appeal court sitting in Abuja has reinstated Ademola Adeleke as the governor of Osun state.
Adeleke is the legitimately elected governor of the state, according to the panel of justices who made their decision on Friday.
On Friday, a three-member panel of judges found that the electoral tribunal erred when it ruled that the first and second respondents (Gboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress) established their charge of over-voting.
The appellate court, in a unanimous ruling by a three-member panel of Justices, concluded that Adeleke’s appeal against his dismissal by the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal was meritorious.
In January, the Osun gubernatorial election tribunal ruled that Oyetola had shown that there was over-voting in several polling units.
According to INEC, Adeleke received 403,371 votes, defeating then-incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the APC, who received 375,027 votes.
However, Oyetola and the APC rejected the election results and went to the tribunal.
Recall
The majority judgement issued by the Justice Tertse Kume-led tribunal on January 27, 2023, invalidated Adeleke’s victory and pronounced Oyetola the winner of the election.
Nevertheless, a minority ruling by Judge B. Ogbuli upheld Adeleke as the poll’s winner.
Mr Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was proclaimed the winner of the gubernatorial election in Osun State on July 16, 2022, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The PDP candidate received 403,371 votes, according to the INEC Chief Returning Officer for Osun, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who announced the results the day after the election.
Mr Adeleke beat the All Progressives Congress (APCGboyega )’s Oyetola, who received 375,027 votes.
Nevertheless, in its judgement announced on January 27, a three-member panel of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal led by Terste Kume overturned Mr Adeleke’s win.
Ademola Adeleke
Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke (born 13 May 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who has been the governor of Osun State since 2022.
From 2017 until 2019, he was the senator for the Osun-West senatorial district.
He is descended from the Adeleke family of Ede, Osun State.
He ran for governor of Osun State on the Peoples Democratic Party platform in 2022, defeating incumbent governor Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola of the APC, who had beaten him in the 2018 Osun State gubernatorial election rerun.
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Gboyega Oyetola
Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola (born September 29, 1954) is a Nigerian politician who served as Osun State governor from 2018 to 2022.
He ran for governor of Osun State on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 2018 gubernatorial election and won.
On March 23, 2019, a tribunal ruled that he had not been properly returned and ordered INEC to produce certificates of return to Senator Adeleke of the PDP, which was challenged in court.
Before to his election, he was the Chief of Staff to his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola.