Ademola Adeleke, the governor of Osun State, has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal Abuja Division contesting the verdict of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that resulted in his removal from office.
At the previous hearing, a three-person panel chaired by Mohamed Shuaibu had reserved decision after hearing numerous arguments.
Additionally, a three-member panel of the Osun tribunal had ordered Adeleke’s dismissal and had subsequently instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return it had already given to Adeleke and issue a new one to Gboyega Oyetola, who had been legitimately elected governor of Osun.
Adeleke did not win the majority of valid votes in the state’s governorship election on July 16, according to the tribunal.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Adeleke was named the victor of the July 16 governorship election.
In August 2022, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and ex-governor Oyetola petitioned the Tribunal to challenge Adeleke’s victory on the grounds that he was ineligible to run for office and that there had been overvoting in 749 polling places across 10 local governments.
Two of the panel’s three members, who rendered the decision, agreed that Oyetola could demonstrate that there was overvoting in several of the polling places.
Adeleke’s legal counsel disputed the allegation of excessive voting in the appellate court.