Disqualify Adeleke, APC’s Oyetola tells Tribunal

Governor of Osun State and candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the just concluded Osun state gubernatorial election, Adegboyega Oyetola has asked the Election Petition Tribunal in Oshogbo to nullify the election of the Governor-elect and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Senator Ademola Adeleke. The governor alleged that the election was fraught with certain irregularities.

On what ground is he asking for the disqualification?

Governor Oyetola told the Tribunal that Adeleke should not have been declared the winner of the election in the first place, as he was not qualified to have contested the election, having submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

One of the members of Oyetola’s legal team, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) said the election in many 749 polling units was marred with irregularities, adding that the legal team has established by the petition that the election in those 749 polling units across 10 Local Government Area in the state was characterized by irregularities pertaining to voting.

Who are members of his legal team?

In an interview with the Punch, shortly after filing the petition in Oshogbo, Kunle Adegoke revealed that the governor has assembled 50 lawyers including 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, listing 13 grounds on which premises Adeleke should be disqualified.

Adegoke said other key members of the legal team included Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), Prince Biodun Layonu (SAN), and Muritala Abdulrasheed (SAN).

“We have nothing less than 50 lawyers, including 10 SANS that we cannot list all of them, so we have listed about 20 lawyers in the petition. We have 13 reliefs. What we are contesting is that the election is fraught with certain irregularities by which the person declared winner ought not to have been declared and that the petitioner, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola ought to have been declared the winner on the ground that Nuruden Ademola Adeleke was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having submitted a forged certificate to INEC.

“The second is that the election in 749 polling units was fraught with irregularities and the election in those units ought to have been nullified. All the polling units mentioned are in 10 Local Governments, out of 30.

“So, if the election in those units is nullified and the votes are canceled, then Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola will have comfortable requirements of the constitution to be declared winner of the election,” Adegoke said.

What is the PDP’s Reaction?

When contacted, the chairman of the Media Management Team of Osun PDP, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said the party was not losing sleep over the petition.

Odeyemi stated that many of the APC leaders advocating for the challenge of the outcome of the election lost their respective wards, adding that he had expected the APC to adopt the spirit of sportsmanship regarding the result of the poll.

“We wonder what they want to take to the Tribunal now. We are not afraid of losing sleep, Oyetola can’t win. We will meet them at the Tribunal. Regarding the allegation of a forged certificate, there is nothing like that. They are only looking for an avenue to come back to the government through the backdoor. PDP is a thorough political party that looks at all the certificates presented by the candidates,” he concluded.