Supreme Court validates Oyetola winner of Osun guber election
The Supreme Court has validated Gboyega Oyetola winner of the Osun governorship election.
The apex court dismissed the appeal by candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
The court, in a majority decision of five-to-two, read by Justice Olabode Rodes-Vivour, held that the failure of a member of the election tribunal, Justice Peter Obiora to sit on February 6, 2019 rendered the entire proceedings and the judgment given by the tribunal a nullity.
The court upheld the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the victory Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Governor of Osun State.
The tribunal had declared Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the September 2018 election.
The Supreme Court in a split judgement on Friday agreed substantially with the Court of Appeal which ruled that a majority judgement delivered at the tribunal was a nullity.
The court said the judge who had read the majority judgement at the tribunal, Peter Obiora, was evidently absent on February 6, following the documents before the court.
It said the failure of Obiora to be present on that day meant that the tribunal lacked the authorities to have given any judgment on the matter.
Two of the seven members of the Supreme Court panel, however, disagreed with the ruling.
The Supreme Court ruling was read by Bode Rhodes-Vivour.
