The Appeal Court has reserved judgement on the appeal filed by Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, challenging the decision of the state election petition tribunal which nullified his victory in the state governorship election.
In the ruling by a three-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu on Monday, the court said it was reversing the matter to a later date for a decision after taking the argument and adopting the briefs of all parties in the suit.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) had on July 17 announced Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as winner of the July 16, 2022 poll.
But the election tribunal in Osun State sacked Adeleke and declarerd former governor Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner of the state’s governorship election last year.
Former Governor Oyetola and the APC challenged the victory on the grounds that there was over-voting and that Adeleke was not eligible to run at the time.
The Tribunal said though Oyetola and APC proved a case of forgery against the Osun Governor, it was not enough to make him ineligible since he had acquired additional qualifications.
The Tribunal however held that there was indeed over-voting and it deducted the invalid votes from the valid votes and declared Oyetola as winner of that election.
