By Ayodele Oni
It was a relief for Senator Ademola Adeleke as the Court of Appeal in Abuja reconfirmed his election, Friday, as Governor of Osun State.
In a unanimous decision, the three man panel of the Court of Appeal threw out the judgement of the Osun Election Tribunal, and reaffirmed Adeleke as the Governor. The Panel said the Election Tribunal which removed him from office in favor of Gboyega Oyetola, the former Governor, who he roundly defeated in the Governorship election held in 2022, was wrong in all ramifications.
To show how empty the case was, the Court of Appeal fined the APC and Oyetola the sum of N500,000.
Ede, Adeleke’s hometown, immediately erupted in joy. And Osun State is agog!
For the Governor, it is all glory to God and thanks to Osun people by reaffirming support for him, especially, in the House of Assembly Elections where his Party, the PDP, overwhelmingly won.
The Election Tribunal had ruled that Adeleke did not receive the majority of lawful votes during the election.
However, the Court of Appeal has now overturned this decision and upheld Adeleke’s position as Governor.
The three-man panel, led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, unanimously agreed that the tribunal’s ruling was flawed, and Adeleke should retain his position.
The Appeal Court Panel has also rescinded the tribunal’s order that Adeleke’s certificate of return should be withdrawn and given to his opponent, Gboyega Oyetola.
One of the key issues that the Appeal Court Panel considered was the issue of BVAS.
It stated that the Osun State Tribunal had made a mistake by accepting Oyetola and the APC’s evidence that there had been over-voting during the election.
The Panel argued that this evidence alone did not prove that there was over-voting and that the Tribunal’s decision was, therefore, incorrect.
