The election petitions tribunal has nullified the election of Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, declaring his opponent, the past governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola, the winner of the July 16 2022 election.
Oyetola had approached the tribunal after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s candidate the winner of the election. Oyetola, who was defeated as incumbent, alleged that the election was marred by irregularities, including over-voting, which took place in several polling units in the state.
Based on these claims, the electoral tribunal annulled the election of Adeleke, declaring the All Progressive Congress Oyetola the winner. Justice Tetsea Kume held that INEC did not comply substantially with the constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act.
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However, the verdict has triggered mixed reactions across the country, with supporters of Adeleke taking to the streets in protest. Adeleke has also criticized the judgment, describing it as “miscarriage of justice.” The disappointed governor said he will challenge the ruling at the Appeal Court while urging his supporters to remain calm.
“I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgment 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,” the governor said in a statement signed by his spokesman, Olawale Rasheed, on Friday.
Adeleke criticized the resolution of the over-voting question in favor of Oyetola, describing it as “an unfair interpretation against the will of majority of voters.”
Also, reacting to the judgment, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) described it as a “black market purchased judgment.”
In a statement issued on Friday by the Co-National Spokesperson for CUPP, Mark Adebayo, the coalition said it’s however optimistic that Adeleke will eventually get justice.
“We are not perturbed because justice will eventually be done on this case. The same way that fuel scarcity is biting hard across the country and motorists have to resort to the black market to buy fuel is the same way that we consider this judgment as a black market purchased judgment that we are confident will eventually be overturned by higher courts.
“It is a temporary attempt to rob the Osun State people of their sovereign will and the judicial processes through its remedial mechanisms will do real justice to correct this anomalous injustice in the name of judgment. That it was a split decision judgment says a lot about its lack of merit.
“The mandate willfully given by the Osun State people to Governor Adeleke remains intact and any attempt to steal it will fail woefully,” the CUPP said.
The tribunal’s verdict has added to the growing number of times that the courts have to decide the outcome of an election in Nigeria. The trajectory has been decried by democracy advocates, who expressed concern that it is hurting the essence of democracy. They said if it is not curtailed, the outcome of elections will no longer be determined by the will of the people.