Aregbesola Reacts as Supreme Court Affirms Oyetola’s Election as Osun Governor

Immediate past governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, has reacted to the Supreme Court judgment affirming Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of the state.

The judgment brought an end to the legal challenge filed by Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the disputed 2018 Osun governorship election.

The Supreme Court, in a majority decision delivered by a seven-member panel led by Justice Rhodes-Vivour, upheld Oyetola’s election.

Five of the seven justices ruled in favour of Oyetola, thereby dismissing Adeleke’s challenge and confirming the APC candidate as governor.

The decision overturned the earlier judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had in March declared Adeleke winner of the election.

The tribunal had held that irregularities surrounding the cancellation of results and the subsequent supplementary election affected Oyetola’s victory and consequently ordered that Adeleke be issued a Certificate of Return.

Oyetola and the APC challenged that decision at the Court of Appeal, which overturned the tribunal’s judgment and restored Oyetola’s victory.

Adeleke and the PDP subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking to reverse the appellate court’s decision.

However, the apex court’s majority judgment upheld the Court of Appeal’s position, effectively ending Adeleke’s legal attempt to unseat Oyetola.

Shortly after the ruling, Aregbesola, who governed Osun State before Oyetola, took to his Twitter account to express his reaction to the judgment.

The Supreme Court verdict finally settled the prolonged legal battle arising from the September 2018 governorship election and confirmed Oyetola’s mandate as governor of Osun State.