Osun Governorship Poll: Why the Tribunal Nullified APC’s Victory

There was widespread jubilation in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, and Ede, the hometown of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Senator Ademola Adeleke, after the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal nullified the election of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared Adeleke winner of the September 2018 governorship election.

Reacting to the judgment, Adeleke simply wrote on his social media account, “To God be the glory.”

The APC rejected the tribunal’s decision, while Oyetola said the judgment would be challenged on appeal and urged residents of the state to remain calm.

In a split decision of two to one, the three-member tribunal held that the petition filed by Adeleke and the PDP challenging Oyetola’s declaration as winner had merit.

INEC had conducted the main governorship election on September 22, 2018, but declared the exercise inconclusive after cancelling results from seven polling units in four local government areas. A supplementary election was subsequently held on September 27, after which Oyetola was declared winner.

Adeleke and the PDP challenged the decision, arguing that the supplementary election should never have been conducted because Adeleke had already secured the highest number of valid votes in the first poll.

Delivering the majority judgment, Justice Peter Obiora held that the State Returning Officer exceeded his legal authority by cancelling polling-unit results and ordering a supplementary election.

The tribunal ruled that the power to cancel results at polling units rested primarily with the presiding officers where irregularities occurred, who were expected to report such cancellations through the appropriate collation process.

According to the tribunal, there was no sufficient evidence that the presiding officers in the affected seven polling units had actually cancelled the results before the State Returning Officer acted.

The panel therefore held that the cancellation was unlawful and that the supplementary election which followed could not stand on the basis of an illegal decision.

The tribunal also found instances of non-compliance with the Electoral Act in 17 polling units during the September 22 election.

After reviewing the disputed figures, the majority judgment deducted 2,029 votes from the APC and 1,246 votes from the PDP.

Following the deductions, the tribunal held that Adeleke had 253,777 valid votes, while Oyetola had 253,476 votes.

On that basis, the panel declared Adeleke the lawful winner of the election, nullified the Certificate of Return issued to Oyetola and directed INEC to issue a fresh certificate to Adeleke.

The tribunal also awarded costs against Oyetola and the APC.

During the judgment, the panel criticised INEC over alterations observed in certified copies of some result sheets tendered before the tribunal.

It noted that figures contained in some Certified True Copies of Form EC8A differed from the duplicate copies reportedly given to party agents after voting.

The tribunal said the evidence suggested that alterations were made after polling had been concluded, while INEC and the APC failed to provide satisfactory explanations for the differences.

The majority consequently accepted the clean copies tendered by the petitioners as more reliable.

However, the tribunal rejected some of Adeleke and the PDP’s other allegations.

It held that the petitioners failed to sufficiently prove claims of over-voting because voter registers tendered in evidence were not adequately linked to testimony from witnesses.

The tribunal also ruled that allegations of violence, being criminal in nature, required proof beyond reasonable doubt, which it said had not been established to the required standard.

Justice Ayinla Gbolagunte agreed with Justice Obiora’s majority decision and joined in declaring Adeleke winner.

However, tribunal chairman Justice Ibrahim Sirajo delivered a dissenting judgment, arguing that the petition should have been dismissed.

Sirajo maintained that declaring the first election inconclusive did not necessarily amount to cancelling the election and said the petitioners had not sufficiently proved their allegations of non-compliance.

He also questioned whether the tribunal had the authority to deduct votes in the manner adopted by the majority.

Despite disagreeing with the final decision, Sirajo agreed with aspects of the judgment that criticised irregularities in INEC’s handling of election materials.

Adeleke and the PDP had argued throughout the proceedings that the September 22 election produced a clear winner and that the September 27 supplementary poll was unnecessary.

They claimed Adeleke initially scored 245,698 votes against Oyetola’s 245,345 before INEC declared the election inconclusive.

The petitioners also alleged that the supplementary election was characterised by violence, vote buying, ballot stuffing, multiple voting and other irregularities.

INEC, Oyetola and the APC denied the allegations and asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition, arguing that Adeleke and the PDP failed to prove that the election was not free, fair and credible.

Following the judgment, supporters of Adeleke celebrated in Osogbo and Ede, where crowds gathered in several locations, singing, dancing and displaying PDP flags.

Adeleke’s elder sister, Dupe Adeleke-Sanni, dedicated the tribunal victory to God and to the memory of their late brother, Isiaka Adeleke, while thanking residents of Osun State for their support.

Osun PDP Chairman Soji Adagunodo also welcomed the judgment, describing it as a victory for the people and expressing confidence in the judiciary.

The APC, however, maintained that the decision would not withstand further legal scrutiny and confirmed its intention to appeal.

The Osun State Government also urged residents to remain peaceful, stressing that Oyetola remained governor while the legal process continued.

At the national level, the PDP described the ruling as a victory for democracy and praised the judiciary for what it called the restoration of the people’s mandate.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also congratulated Adeleke, describing the judiciary as an important defender of democracy.

The Coalition of United Political Parties and then Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu similarly welcomed the judgment, describing it as an affirmation of the importance of the ballot and the rule of law.