Adeleke Scales One Hurdle, Braces Up for the Future
Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Alex Enumah write that the recent decision of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has brought an end to the first phase in the legal battle which started about six months ago
For many who keenly followed the proceedings of the Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja, it would have been a huge surprise if the final verdict had turned out any other way. The expectation was that Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could not muster a coherent defense against the overwhelming indictment from evidence presented by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke who approached the tribunal, seeking justice for perceived injury that led to his loss in the governorship contest.
The better part of the tribunal sitting, were characterised by stunning sessions as the defendants, Oyetola, APC and INEC employed various delay tactics to sway the course of justice. To the consternation of the legal teams of APC and Oyetola, many of their witnesses inadvertently ruined their case under crossexamination as they sustained evidence that countered the submission of their principal. The Osun State INEC finally nailed the coffin on the case of the defendants when it closed its submission without calling a single witness. The commission, through its counsel, Adesina Agbede closed the case without canvassing any argument against the presentations, submissions and prayers of the petitioner Senator Ademola Adeleke, that he be declared the rightful winner of the election based on the results of the first ballot on September 22, 2018.
On the contrary, Adeleke and the PDP called 80 witnesses to authenticate their prayers and also tendered over 500 pieces of documentary evidence. By closing its case without any defense, INEC literally endorsed and conceded to the PDP petition seeking declaration of Senator Adeleke as the winner of the election. Since INEC was the one that committed the infractions and had literally accepted the pleadings of Adeleke and the PDP, it would have been a surprise if a different verdict was handed down by the tribunal.
It must be noted, however, that there was the possibility of an upset in favour of Oyetola. Instead, the three-person tribunal returned a split decision of two to one to nullify the election of Oyetola. The verdict returned by the tribunal will remain fresh in the memory of watchers of the polity for a long time.
The setting up of the tribunal itself was the aftermath of the September 22, 2018 governorship election and the September 27, rerun election that followed.
The tribunal’s decision which was announced in Abuja on March 22 has brought to an end the first phase in the legal battle for the number one position in the state which started about six months ago.
The tribunal in its lead judgment also ordered INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate of Return earlier issued to Oyetola and issue a fresh one to the PDP candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke being the lawful winner of the election.
INEC had on September 28 declared the candidate of the APC, Oyetola, winner of the 2018 Osun governorship election. Oyetola was returned as governor-elect at the end of a supplementary election which held in seven polling units across four local governments.
According to the electoral body, the APC candidate had scored a total of 255,505 votes as against the 255,023 scored by his closest rival, candidate of the PDP, Adeleke.
The declaration of Oyetola as governor by INEC set the stage for the legal action which commenced last October with the filing of an application by Adeleke and his party, the PDP for leave of the tribunal to inspect materials used by INEC in the conduct of the governorship election. The request was to enable them institute and maintain their petition.
While Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) represented the plaintiffs, Wole Olanipekun SAN appeared for Oyetola; Akin Olujinmi (SAN) for the APC and Lasco Pwahomdi stood in for INEC.
This was followed by the main petition filed in October challenging the victory of the APC and Oyetola. The petition among other things was anchored on grounds that the re-run poll was marred by manifest irregularities.
In the petition marked: EPT/OS/GOV/1/2018 Adeleke and the PDP, therefore, urged the tribunal to nullify the victory of Oyetola and declare them as winners of the September 22, governorship election.