The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the decision of the Osun State Governorship Tribunal and upheld the election of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the state.
Senator Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party had won the said election held on July 16, 2022, but the result was nullified by the tribunal on the grounds of over-voting.
The court also ordered INEC to issue a certificate of return to the former governor of the state, Oyetola.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the court in Osun, Adeleke appealed the judgment at the court of appeal.
The panel held that the Osun State Tribunal was wrong to have said that there was overvoting, a claim that only relied on the evidence provided by Oyetola and the APC and, as such, doesn’t prove their case in any way.
The judge faulted Oyetola and APC, saying that they only relied on the data from the back-end server and failed to look at the voter register, which forms the foundation of the whole electoral process, and as such, cannot strengthen their allegations of overvoting.
On the issue of jurisdiction, the court resolved in favor of Adeleke, stating that according to Section 285(8) of the Constitution, as amended, the court has every right to entertain the appeal.
The court also awarded the sum of N500,000 against the All Progressive Congress and its candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.