Osun Governorship Election: Appeal Court Upholds Oyetola’s Victory

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgement of the Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal which nullified the victory of Governor Gboyega Oyetola .

Delivering the lead judgement on Thursday, Justice Hannatu Sankey set aside the entire proceedings of the Tribunal because of its “faulty composition”.

The judgment of the appellate court was upheld by four justices of the five-man panel.

Concise News had reported that the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja had declared Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the 2018 governorship election in the state.

It held that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gboyega Oyetola , was not validly returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It stated that the exercise was borne out of an illegal cancellation of results in the polling units during the September 22, 2018 original poll.

The Returning Officers who declared the results cancelled, according to the Tribunal, lacked the power to do so.

The Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Adeleke, petitioned the tribunal to declare Adeleke the governor-elect because, according to them, the party polled the highest lawful votes.