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The electoral commission declared Adeleke as the winner of the Osun governorship election in July 2022.
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Oyetola of the APC disputed the outcome of the election and the petitions tribunal sided with him in January 2023.
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However, the Court of Appeal has held that the tribunal erred in its verdict.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has reinstated Ademola Adeleke as the governor of Osun state.
Recall that the Osun State governorship election petitions tribunal, in January, held that Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was the duly elected governor of Osun State in the July 2022 governorship election.
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The tribunal agreed with Oyetola and the APC that there was over-voting in some of the polling units.
Consequently, the majority judgement of the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and issue a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Adeleke appealed the verdict at the Court of Appeal.
Delivering judgement in the appeal filed by the governor on Friday, a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu held that the election tribunal erred when it ruled that the 1st and 2nd respondents (Oyetola and the APC) proved their allegation of over-voting.
The panel held that the Osun State tribunal was wrong to have agreed that there was over-voting, a claim that only relied on the evidence by Oyetola and the APC, and as such, doesn’t prove their case in any way.
The justices faulted the petitioners for relying on the data from the backend server and failing to look at the voters’ register which forms the foundation of the whole electoral process and as such, cannot strengthen their allegations of over-voting.
On the issue of jurisdiction, the court resolved in favour of Adeleke stating that according to section 285(8) of the constitution as amended, the court has every right to entertain the appeal.
The panel of judges finally held that Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is the duly elected governor of the state.
The appellate court also awarded the sum of N500, 000 against Oyetola and the APC.
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The matter is expected to end up at the Supreme Court, which will deliver the final judgement.
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