By John Dike, Osogbo
A fresh political drama is playing out in Osun State following the appearance of two petitions at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) separately denying knowledge of, or responsibility for, the legal actions purportedly instituted in the names of their candidates.
The development has generated considerable confusion within the state’s political circles, particularly because one of the petitions was said to have been filed in the names of the APC and its governorship candidate, Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji, while the second was purportedly filed by the PDP governorship candidate, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as Fryo.
Both politcians, however, have now publicly disowned the petitions.
The controversy began after the tribunal secretariat in Osogbo displayed two petitions dated September 5, 2026, arising from the August 15 governorship election.
The appearance of the documents initially suggested that the APC and its candidate had commenced legal proceedings to challenge the declaration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as winner of the election.
However, what appeared to be a straightforward post-election legal challenge quickly turned into a political mystery when lawyers representing the APC came out to deny filing the petition.
The first petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, bore the names of Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, while Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were listed as respondents.
Ordinarily, the appearance of such a petition would have been interpreted as confirmation that the APC had decided to contest the outcome of the election through the judicial process.
But members of the party’s legal team immediately raised questions about the document, insisting that it was not authorised by the party leadership or the APC governorship candidate.
A member of the APC legal team, Muideen Adeoye, said categorically that neither the party nor Oyebamiji had filed any petition challenging the election result.
Adeoye said the APC legal team had already reached an understanding with the party leadership that the election would not be challenged at the tribunal.
“I am telling you authoritatively that we did not file any petition, either for the candidate or the party,” he said.
According to him, although the petition could have been initiated by individuals within the party, such action was undertaken without the approval or authority of the recognised party leadership.
“The said petition may have emanated from some persons within the party, but it is without the permission of the leadership,” Adeoye said.
He described the situation as strange, particularly because the party’s legal team and leadership had previously agreed not to institute an election petition.
“As I am speaking with you, the legal team, in conjunction with the party hierarchy, agreed not to file any petition and we did not file any,” he added.
Adeoye further confirmed that the notice of the petition had been pasted at the tribunal, saying the development had surprised members of the legal team.
“I am also aware that notice of petition was pasted at the tribunal today (Monday). That is strange, and I repeat, we did not file the said petition,” he said.
The controversy was subsequently reinforced by another senior member of the APC legal team, Chief Abiodun Layonu, SAN, who also disowned the petition.
In a statement titled “Re: APC Challenge Gubernatorial Election at Tribunal,” Layonu said the APC candidate, the party and the legal team were shocked to discover documents purporting to challenge Adeleke’s victory on their behalf.
Layonu said the documents did not have the authorisation of either Oyebamiji or the APC.
“The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) legal team has been drawn to a bundle of papers purportedly referred to as Election Petition purportedly filed on behalf of Bola Oyebamiji and APC,” he stated.
He added that both the candidate and the party were surprised by the development.
“Our clients and the entire legal team were shocked to read the purported petition, as neither the candidate nor the party authorised the filing of same,” Layonu said.
The senior lawyer went further to expressly dissociate the APC and its candidate from the document.
“We hereby denounce in absolute terms the purported petition filed in the name of APC and its gubernatorial candidate,” he declared.
He subsequently urged APC supporters, party members and members of the public to disregard the purported petition, stressing that it did not originate from the party’s recognised legal representatives.
The controversy assumed another dimension on Tuesday when the Osun State APC Governorship Campaign Council also publicly rejected reports that the party and Oyebamiji had filed a petition against the outcome of the election.
The Campaign Council described the reports as false and mischievous, insisting that neither the APC nor its candidate had authorised any legal challenge before the tribunal.
The position was contained in a statement issued by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Osun APC Governorship Campaign Council, Engr. Oluremi Omowaiye, and made available to journalists on Tuesday.
Omowaiye stated categorically that the APC and Oyebamiji had not filed any petition challenging the August 15 governorship election.
“We state categorically that neither the All Progressives Congress (APC) nor its governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO), filed any petition at the tribunal challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship election,” the statement said.
The Campaign Council described the purported claim as completely untrue, saying it should be treated as a rumour being circulated by individuals attempting to mislead the public and create unnecessary tension in the state.
“The purported claim is therefore completely untrue and should be regarded as nothing more than a rumour being circulated by individuals seeking to mislead members of the public and create unnecessary tension,” Omowaiye stated.
The Campaign Council further appealed to APC supporters and members of the public not to attach credibility to information that had not been officially confirmed by the party.
“We urge members of the public, supporters of our great party and the media to discountenance the claim and refrain from giving credibility to unverified information designed to cause confusion,” it said.
The council also reaffirmed the commitment of the APC and Oyebamiji to democratic and lawful processes.
“The APC and Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji remain committed to lawful and democratic processes and will continue to act responsibly in the interest of peace, stability and the good people of Osun State,” the statement added.
The Campaign Council advised the public to rely only on official statements from the APC and its campaign organisation concerning the party, its candidate and the outcome of the election.
While the controversy surrounding the petition purportedly filed by the APC and Oyebamiji was still unfolding, the appearance of another petition at the tribunal added a new twist to the development.
The second petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was purportedly filed by Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as Fryo, against Governor Adeleke, INEC and the Accord Party.
But Adedamola, who emerged as the PDP governorship candidate ahead of the election, also denied filing or authorising the petition.
Speaking on TVC News, Adedamola said he was unaware of the document and could not understand how a petition bearing his name had found its way to the tribunal.
“I don’t know where they manufacture the petition they submitted at the Tribunal to challenge the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke. I have not been briefed by anybody. I want people to disregard it,” he said.
Adedamola was emphatic that he had no intention of challenging Adeleke’s victory.
“I am not filing any petition against Governor Ademola Adeleke,” he declared.
He recalled that he had publicly endorsed Adeleke before the election and had subsequently voted for the incumbent governor.
“Before the election, I already endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke as our candidate during a press conference on the 13th of August. I even voted for Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party,” Adedamola stated.
His position has further complicated the unfolding tribunal drama because the PDP candidate’s name appeared on a petition purportedly challenging the same election outcome that he had publicly endorsed.
The development has therefore left political observers asking who authorised the petition and under what circumstances it was submitted to the tribunal.
Adedamola’s denial also comes against the background of the PDP’s position in the August 15 governorship election.
Although Adedamola emerged as the party’s candidate, the PDP was not among the political parties that ultimately participated in the election, according to the electoral process announced by INEC.
Adedamola subsequently publicly backed Adeleke ahead of the poll.
His latest denial has therefore made the appearance of a petition bearing his name even more curious.
Amid the denials from the political actors involved, the tribunal secretariat confirmed that petitions relating to the August 15 governorship election had been received.
The tribunal secretary, Pefe Belemore, confirmed the receipt of petitions as the controversy began to attract attention.
When the tribunal secretariat was visited on Monday, Belemore and other officials were reportedly in the courtroom preparing for proceedings.
The presence of officials of the Accord Party and members of its legal team at the tribunal also added to the political interest surrounding the development.
However, despite the existence of documents at the tribunal, the parties and individuals whose names appeared on the petitions have continued to insist that they did not authorise the cases.
This has created a curious situation in which the tribunal has documents bearing the names of purported petitioners, while those same petitioners and their recognised legal representatives are publicly denying responsibility for them.
For the Accord Party, however, the controversy does not appear to have generated panic.
The Osun State Chairman of the party, Victor Akande, said any aggrieved candidate or political party had the constitutional right to approach the tribunal.
Akande said the Accord Party would not object to any legitimate legal challenge, stressing that litigation remained preferable to actions that could threaten public peace.
“It is better to approach the tribunal than taking laws into their hands by disrupting peace and other things,” he said.
He, however, expressed the view that elections should ideally be concluded at the polling booths rather than through prolonged litigation.
“I believe our election should end at the poll; the court should not be deciding the winners of elections,” Akande said.
Despite that position, he acknowledged the constitutional right of any aggrieved party or candidate to seek judicial redress.
“However, it is within their right and I respect that,” he added.
Akande said the Accord Party remained confident that Adeleke and the party won the election convincingly and would have no difficulty defending the result if a properly constituted petition eventually came before the tribunal.
“We are sure that our party and the candidate won the election convincingly and if they have doubt, it will be cleared at the tribunal,” he said.
Governor Adeleke was declared the winner of the August 15 governorship election after securing 511,067 votes, defeating Oyebamiji of the APC, who polled 444,815 votes.
The election result had subsequently generated political reactions across the state, with attention shifting to whether the defeated candidates would challenge the outcome in court.
The latest development, however, has taken an unusual turn.
Rather than a straightforward legal battle between the declared winner and his major challengers, the immediate controversy is now over the identity and authority of those behind petitions bearing the names of political parties and candidates who say they did not authorise them.
The APC has now issued multiple denials through its legal team and its Governorship Campaign Council.
Its lawyers have disowned the petition, while the Campaign Council has described reports of an APC legal challenge as false and mischievous.
On the other side, Adedamola has equally denied filing the second petition, insisting that he endorsed Adeleke before the election and even voted for him.
For now, the tribunal has confirmed receipt of petitions, but the political actors whose names appear on the documents insist they did not authorise the legal actions.
The development has consequently raised a series of questions: Who filed the petitions? Who instructed the lawyers? Who authorised the documents? And, perhaps most importantly, can petitions be sustained when the persons named as petitioners publicly deny authorising them?
Those questions may now become as significant as the substantive issues surrounding the August 15 election itself.
Until the circumstances surrounding the petitions are clarified, the biggest drama at the Osun Election Petition Tribunal may not be a battle over who won the election, but the unfolding mystery of who actually filed the petitions that the purported petitioners themselves say they never authorised.
