Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, during his swearing-in in Osogbo; Photo/twitter//aadeleke_
Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal has sacked Senator Ademola Adeleke as Governor.
In a majority judgment, the tribunal chaired by Justice Tertse Kume cancelled election in 744 polling units due to over-voting.
Former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola challenged the July 16th 2022 governorship by joining All Progressives Congress(APC) to file a petition against the victory of Adeleke.
He alleged over-voting in 749 polling units and certificate forgery by candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
Oyetola and APC who dragged Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) as the first respondent, Adeleke, second respondent and PDP as the third, called two witnesses.
Counsel to the petitioners, Lateef Fagbemi urged the tribunal to admit the contents of the petition and declare Oyetola as the winner of the election.
INEC called one witness while Adeleke called two witnesses to defend the petition during the hearing.
The counsel to INEC, Professor Paul Ananaba and Adeleke’s counsel, Alex Izion, Onyechi Ikpeazu for PDP all urged the court to discountenance the petition and affirm him as the winner of the election.
Reading the majority judgement by Rabi Bashir and Tertse Kume, Justice Kume, said: “In other words, the defenses of the respondents are taint with fundamental flaws, irreconcilable and unreliable, incapable of defeating the credible evidence tendered by the petitioners in respect of the 744 polling units where over voting has been established.
“The inference we hereby drawn from the factestablished by the evidence and record is that the election conducted on the 16th day of July, 2022 was done in substantial non complaince with the provisions of the Electoral Acts and extant regulations.
“Moreover, exhibit BVR has not been withdrawn by the first respondent who made and issued it. The petitioners relied on exhibit BVR in maintaining this petition.
“Similarly, the exhibit tendered by the respondents after exhibit BVR submitted by learned counsel to the petitioners, were thought of after the declaration of result on the 17th day of July, 2022.
“The said conduct of the respondents, especially, the first respondent amounts to tampering with official records. The conduct of the first respondent in the said election under consideration has produced multiple accusation report, contrary to votes declaration, to conduct of free, fair and credible elections on the basis of one man or woman with one vote.
“Consequently, to forestall a manipulation of BIVAS machines in the conduct of elections in Nigeria by the first respondent, the presiding officers at the polling units and other key officers of the first respondent should act on the vest won by them.
“During the conduct of elections, an electronic device embedded in a safe vest which would have helped you to collect data and information transmitable to a server domiciled either to the headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force, NIGCOMSAT, the National Secretary Adviser, independent of the first respondent.
“The data store at the server in any of the said offices will be a resource material for investigation and possible prosecution of any infraction that may occur in the use of the BIVAS in the polling units during the conduct of elections.
“We find as a fact that the voting occurred in the election conducted on the 16th day of July, 2022 in the manner stated in the table in paragraph 6.19 of the petitioner’s final written address already reproduced in this judgement, the duty of this tribunal is to deduct the said invalid votes from the lawful votes of the first petitioner and the first respondent to determine who have the majority of lawful votes at the said election.
“The table produced on page 30 paragraph 7.01 of the petitioner final written address in response to the first respondent final written address on page 17 paragraph 6.21 on the petitioner’s final address shows a graphic demonstration of the lawful votes after the deduction of the said invalid votes cast.
“For the sake of emphasis, the total lawful vote cast for each of the candidates after the said deduction of invalid votes is 314,931 for the first petitioner and 290,266 votes for the second respondent.
“The second respondent did not score a majority of lawful votes cast for the election. The declaration and return is hereby declared as null and void, the second respondent can not “go low low and buga won” as duly elected governor of Osun state in the election conducted on July 16th 2022, see Kiss Daniel song, Buga.
”Rather, we hereby hold that, the first petitioner scored the majority of lawful votes in the said election and is hereby returned as such.
“The first respondent is hereby directed to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to the second respondent and give the first petitioner Certificate of Return as the duly elected Governor.”
Justice Tetsea Kume, while delivering a majority decision 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 Oyetola won the election, having polled 314, 921, while Adeleke’s score came down to 290, 266.
The judge directed INEC to withdraw Adeleke’s certificate of return and issued another one to Oyetola who won a majority of the lawful votes.
The decision of the judges is being read at the time of filing this report.
INEC on Sunday, July 17 declared PDP candidate Adeleke as the winner of the Osun State governorship election.
The PDP candidate won 17 of the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Osun State governorship election.
APC candidate Oyetola won in the remaining 13 LGAs, according to results announced by INEC on Sunday morning.
In total Oyetola of the APC polled 375,027 votes while Adeleke of the PDP claimed 403,371 votes.
Adeleke, a former senator and younger brother to the state’s first governor, Isiaka Adeleke, defeated Oyetola, by a margin of about 44,426 votes.
Meanwhile, there were 13 other candidates that took part in the election including Akin Ogunbiyi of the Accord Party, Goke Omigbodun of the Social Democratic Party, and the former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuf, who contested under the platform of Labour Party.
The Guardian/The Nation
