The Supreme Court has affirmed Ademola Adeleke as the governor of Osun State.
Adeleke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had his victory in the July 2022 election nullified at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal. Former Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had declared at the tribunal that there was over-voting as well as other irregularities in the polls, which denied him victory.
The tribunal ruled in Oyetola’s favour, calling for the INEC certificate of return to be issued to him.
However, Adeleke challenged the tribunal’s ruling, winning at the Appeal Court, where the verdict affirming Oyetola as governor was overruled, and further proceedings brought by the APC, which culminated in the Supreme Court verdict delivered in Abuja today.
The Supreme Court, among other issues raised, stated that Oyetola failed to prove over-voting in his appeal, as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines were the basis for proving he was the validly elected governor of the state.
