Tribunal Sacks Adeleke As Osun Governor, Declares Oyetola Winner

The Osun State Governorship election tribunal has declared the election of Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the state invalid.

The panel ruled on Friday, recognizing Gboyega Oyetola as the state’s duly elected governor.

In the state election held on July 16, 2023, Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defeated Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

With 403,371 votes to Oyetola’s 375,027, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) pronounced Adeleke the victor.

Oyetola filed a petition at the tribunal, disputing the proclamation of Adeleke as the election’s winner after being dissatisfied with the electoral umpire’s decision.

He argued for the election’s annulment, citing, among other things, allegations of overvoting, irregularities in some voting booths, and the veracity of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate produced by the PDP candidate.

The tribunal declared in its ruling on Friday that there was excessive voting in the governorship race, adding that once the votes were subtracted, Oyetola’s total rose to 314, 921, while Adeleke’s fell to 290, 266.