The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, this Friday, vacated the tribunal judgement that nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justice, held that the appeal Adeleke lodged to challenge his sack by the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, was meritorious.

Aside from setting aside the judgement of the tribunal, the court, in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Mohammed Lawal, awarded N500, 000 cost against the All Progressive Congress, APC, and its candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.

The Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal hearing the All Progressives Congress’ governorship candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola’s petition against the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Ademola Adeleke had on Friday, 27 January, 2023, annulled the result of the July 16, 2022 Osun governorship poll.

The Justice Tertse Kume-led tribunal, in a majority verdict, annulled Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola the winner of the poll.

However, a minority judgment by Justice B. Ogbuli affirmed Adeleke as the winner of the poll.

Oyetola and the APC had challenged Adeleke’s victory, even as the latter was declared the winner and returned elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Returning Officer for the election and Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced that Adeleke got a total of 403,371 votes beating the incumbent Oyetola who got 375,027 votes in the keenly contested race.

Oyetola won in 13 Local Government Areas of the state to come second in the election.

On August 5, 2022, Oyetola approached the Election Petitions Tribunal in Osogbo, the state capital, to nullify Adeleke’s win.

He alleged that the election was fraught with certain “irregularities”.

As Oyetola said, Adeleke ought not to have been declared winner as he was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having submitted a forged certificate to INEC.