In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed the election of Ademola Adeleke as the Governor of Osun state.
The five-member panel, led by Justice Emmanuel Agim, held that the Court of Appeal correctly reinstated Adeleke as governor.
This decision comes after the former governor of the state and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gboyega Oyetola, approached the apex court following an earlier ruling by the Court of Appeal.
On the 25th of March, 2023, the appellate court affirmed Adeleke’s victory in the July 16, 2023 governorship election, setting aside an earlier judgment by the Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had ruled in favour of Oyetola and sacked Adeleke.
In their argument before the Supreme Court, Oyetola and the APC claimed that there was overvoting in the governorship election in the state.
However, In its ruling, the Supreme Court emphasized that Oyetola and the APC failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claim of overvoting during the July 16, 2023 governorship election in Osun state.
The apex court held that the appeal lacked merit and affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had upheld Adeleke’s victory.
The apex court’s decision was unanimously adopted by all five members of the panel, who agreed that the appellant failed to adduce enough evidence to prove the allegation of overvoting.
This verdict is expected to put an end to the legal dispute over the governorship election and reinforce the sanctity of the electoral process.
