Though the Osun state governorship election has been won and lost at the polls as the People’s Democratic Party carried the day as INEC declared its candidate, Ademola Adeleke, the winner with 430,000 votes to beat his closest Challenger, Governor Isiaka Oyetola of the APC with 375,000 votes.
PDP and it’s candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke had since be declared winner by INEC, this may not have been the last to be heard as the APC may still retain the control of the key Southwest state through the court. If this happens, it means all the votes cast for PDP will be a waste.
There is a pre-election case of who is the authentic candidate of the PDP that has been in court. The case is now at the Appeal Court level, and by the time the party will be out of the court, PDP may end up losing their mandate to APC and it’s candidate, Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
The summary of the judgement delivered by Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Osogbo noted clearly that the primary election that produced Senator Ademola Adeleke was done at the right venue and was conducted by the right people but with wrong delegates. It means the primary election was built on quick sand. So, it cannot stand.
For Dotun Babayemi, the challenger in court, it was noted that although he was voted for by the right delegates but the primary election that produced him took place at the wrong venue and was conducted by the wrong people. So his primary too can’t stand.
There is a precedence upon which this case will end. Neither Adeleke nor Babayemi’s candidature can stand before the law, going by the Supreme Court judgment on Zamfara State APC gubernatorial primaries.
Dotun Babayemi was aware that if Adeleke wins, either Oyetola or someone else will eventually become the Governor because the said election will definitely be nullified by the Court. It’s in his own interest to remain in the Court to realize his narrow agenda knowing nullification of Adeleke’s election will give him the chance to come back in 2026 from his Osun West senatorial zone.
We will have to wait for the court to decide and fortunately for the Osun APC and it’s candidate, the Director General of the Gboyega Oyetola campaign, Senator Ajibola Basiru is legendary and well known as litigator and courtroom gladiator in electoral legal matters, he was a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State who knows his onions in such matters.
The Osun State APC would be studying the legal loopholes and exploring it to take advantage of it to regain it’s mandate. We would have to await the judiciary to once again deliver a landmark judgement that would have an outstanding mark on the political process.
– Bello Akinkunmi Yakub
