On Friday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), overturned the judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had fired Governor Ademola Adeleke on January 27, 2023.
Adeleke filed a 31-grounds appeal, which was heard by the appellate court.
The appeal panel, chaired by Justice Mohamed Shuaibu, ruled on Friday that the tribunal erred on the side of the law by failing to examine the question made by Adeleke in his preliminary objection to Oyetola’s petition.
“Overall, the appeal is meritorious and thus allowed,” according to the court.
“The first and second respondents shall pay the appellant a cost of N500,000 each,” the panel said.
It would be recalled that Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been declared winner of the election on July 16, 2022, but the result was overturned by the tribunal due to over-voting.
A three-member tribunal bench ordered Adeleke’s removal and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to revoke the certificate of return provided to him and issue a new one to Gboyega Oyetola, the legitimately elected Governor of Osun State, South-West Nigeria.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, Oyetola, the former Governor of Osun, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), had petitioned the tribunal in August 2022 to challenge Adeleke’s victory on the grounds that he did not qualify to contest the election and that there was alleged over-voting in 749 polling units across 10 local government areas of the state.
In the decision, two of the tribunal’s three members held that Oyetola demonstrated significantly that there was actually over-voting in several of the polling stations.
-All Rights Reserved-
Permission to use any material, including text, still photograph, audio and video from this site is granted subject to permission being formally sought and, if granted, appropriate credit must duly be given to The News Room as the source.
Stay connected, get exclusive updates, and be the first to know about all the exciting things happening. Whether you’re looking for insights, tips, or just want to be part of an amazing community, our WhatsApp group is the place to be!
👉 Don’t miss out. Click the link and be part of something awesome! 🚀
