UPDATED: Tribunal nullifies Adeleke’s election, declares Oyetola winner

Our reporter/ The Osun State Governorship election petitions tribunal on Friday nullified the election of Ademola Adeleke as Governor of the state.

In a ruling in the closely watched petition, the tribunal declared Gboyega Oyetola the validly elected governor of the state.

The tribunal held in its judgment held that the governorship election was characterized by over-voting, adding that after deducting the excessive votes, Oyetola’s figures rose to 314, 921, while Adeleke’s came down to 290, 266.

The tribunal led by Justice Terste Kume, therefore, instructed INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and his deputy, Kola Adewusi. It directed that the certificate of return be issued to Oyetola instead.

Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defeated Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the July 16, 2023 poll in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Adeleke the winner after polling 403,371 against Oyetola’s 375,027 votes.

Though there were 13 other candidates that participated in the Osun governorship election, it was dominated by Adeleke and Oyetola.

The PDP candidate was victorious in 17 of the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state governorship poll. The remaining 13 LGAs were however taken by Oyetola of the APC.

Not satisfied with the declaration by the electoral umpire, Oyetola had filed a petition at the tribunal challenging the declaration of Adeleke as the winner of the election.

He asked the tribunal to nullify the election, hinging his case on alleged rigging by overvoting, infractions in some polling units, and the authenticity of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate presented by the PDP candidate among other grounds.

The judge directed INEC to withdraw Adeleke’s certificate of return and issued another one to Oyetola who won a majority of the lawful votes.