The Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke has described the judgement of the governorship election tribunal as “a miscarriage of justice”, vowing to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Reacting to the verdict of the Tribunal from his country home, Ede, Adeleke faulted the resolution of the over-voting question in favour of Gboyega Oyetola, calling it “an unfair interpretation against the will of majority of voters.”
While urging his supporters to remain calm, Adeleke vowed to appeal the judgement at the Court of Appeal, insisting he remains the rightful winner of the July 16 election.
“I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done. Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate”, Adeleke declared.
The Quest Times reports that the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Friday sacked Governor Ademola Adeleke as the duly elected governor of the state.
The Tribunal annulled the result of the July 16, 2022 Osun governorship poll.
Delivering a majority decision, Justice Tetsea Kume declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not comply substantially with the Constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act.
He subsequently deducted the over-voting observed from the votes scored by the candidates and declared that Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the election, having polled 314,921, while Adeleke’s score came down to 290,266.
He directed INEC to withdraw Adeleke’s certificate of return and issue another one to Oyetola who won a majority of the lawful votes.