On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja postponed its decision in an appeal brought by Mr. Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against a tribunal decision that declared his election as governor of Osun unlawful.
After hearing from Adeleke's attorneys, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, and Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who represented the immediately-past governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, the three-member panel led by Judge M. F. Shuaibu, said that the decision would be made at a later time.
Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are the appeal's first and second respondents, while Adeleke is the appellant.
Furthermore included as the third and fourth respondents, respectively, are the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Nevertheless, neither INEC nor PDP, who were each represented by Paul Ananaba, SAN, and Alex Iziyon, SAN, in the case, filed any paperwork.
The cross-appeals filed by PDP, INEC, and Oyetola are also anticipated to be heard by the appellant court.
The July 16, 2022 election that resulted in Adeleke of the PDP being elected governor was declared invalid by the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on January 27.
A total of 403,371 votes were cast in the race, and INEC declared Adeleke the victor.
According to reports, he won in 17 out of the state's 30 local government units.
However, in its ruling, the tribunal presided over by Judge Terste Kume ruled the election unlawful and named Mr. Gboyega Oyetola of the APC as the legitimate victor.
The court ordered INEC to revoke the certificates of return that had been given to Adeleke and his appointed replacement, Kola Adewusi.
Instead, Oyetola was instructed to receive the certificate of return.
According to Justice Kume, the governorship election was not conducted in accordance with the Nigerian Electoral Act.
The panel further determined that there was excessive voting in the governorship race.
The panel concluded that there was excessive voting in the governorship race.
According to the report, Oyetola received 314, 921 votes overall after the extra votes were subtracted.
As a result, the panel mandated that Oyetola be reinstated as governor of Osun State.
In earlier results released by INEC, Oyetola was declared the winner of the July 16, 2022 governorship election in 13 LGAs with 375,027 votes.
The election, which featured 15 candidates and was hotly contested by Adeleke and Oyetola, featured 15 candidates.
The state's recently-departed governor, Oyetola, said in his plea that there was over voting in 749 of the polling places during the election.
Additionally, he contended that Adeleke presented false academic qualifications to the NEC in order to run for office.
A few weeks after the governorship election, in August 2022, the tribunal first met.
Oyetola and the APC were the petitioners in the case, and their principal attorneys were Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and Akin Olujimi, SAN.
The first defendant was INEC, the second defendant was Adeleke, and the third defendant was PDP. NAN