The Osun state governorship election has been a subject of controversy since its inception on July 16, with allegations of over-voting in some polling units. The Osun governorship election tribunal ruled in January that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gboyega Oyetola, was able to prove that there was over-voting in some of the polling units. Consequently, the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and issue a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Adeleke appealed the judgment. On March 24, a court of appeal sitting in Abuja reinstated Adeleke as the duly elected governor of the state. In its judgment, a three-member panel of justices held that the election tribunal erred when it ruled that Oyetola and the APC had proved their allegation of over-voting.
However, the controversy is far from over, as the Supreme Court in Abuja has fixed Tuesday, May 9, to deliver judgment on the disputed governorship poll in Osun state. A five-member panel of justices led by John Okoro fixed the date on Monday after all the parties involved adopted their written briefs in the matter.
In his appeal, Adeleke argued that there was no majority judgment as the second judge on the panel, Rabi Bashir, failed to write her opinion as required by section 294(2) of the constitution. He also challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal to preside over the petition on the grounds that it failed to consider the preliminary objection he filed against the petitioners.
The forthcoming judgment by the Supreme Court will have significant implications for the political landscape of Osun state and the country at large. All eyes will be on the apex court as it makes its final decision on the disputed governorship election.
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