The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s election victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission on September 2018.
The court on Thursday set aside the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s judgment which nullified the Osun state governor’s victory.
In three separate appeals filed by Oyetola, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission, the appellate court was asked to set aside the 22 March, 2019 judgement of the tribunal which declared Senator Ademola Adeleke as winner.
The tribunal in a split judgment in March declared Adeleke as winner of the September 2018 election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue him with the certificate of return.
Two of the judges upheld the petitions filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ademola Adeleke and the PDP. However, the Chairman of the tribunal differed from the two and upheld Oyetola’s election.
The tribunal’s majority verdict held that the supplementary election by INEC in seven cancelled units on September 22,2018, was null and void.
The tribunal ruled that the Returning Officer who cancelled the results had no power to do so but a five-member panel of the appeal court led by Jummai Sankey delivered the judgement with three members of the panel agreeing with the lead judgement.
The three other judges in agreement with the lead judgement read by Jummai Sankey are Abubakar Yahaya, Isaiah Akeju, and Bitrus Sanga.
A panel member, George Mbaba, gave a dissenting judgement.
Senator Ademola Adeleke contested the governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Specifically, Oyetola in his appeal faulted the judgment as unknown to the law because Justice Peter Obiorah who prepared and read the lead judgement did not participate fully during the hearing of the petition.
Oyetola whose appeal was first heard by the court of appeal drew the attention of the court to the February 6 proceedings in which Obiorah was absent at the tribunal and did not sign the proceeding of that day.
The appellant contended that what Obiorah did amounted to judicial hear-say because the proceeding of February 6 when he was not in court was copiously copied in his lead judgement.
Insisting that judicial hearsay has no place in law, Oyetola asked the appeal court to quash the judgement, allow the appeal and uphold the governorship election.
On his part, the counsel to APC, Akin Olujinmi, also faulted the judgment of the tribunal led by Ibrahim Sirajo, on the ground that the petition was based on the rerun election of September 27.
Justice George Mbaba who gave a dissenting judgment, disagreed that Justice Obiora did not attend the proceedings of February 2.
He said the allegation that Justice Obiora did not sit is a well-articulated speculation.
According to Mbaba, he resolved issues 1 to 4 in favour of Adeleke and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Mbaba, therefore, dismissed the appeal and awarded a cost of N200,000 against the appelant.
