The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has declared Governor Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of last year’s gubernatorial election in Osun State.
A five-member panel of the appeal court led by Justice Jummai Sankey delivered the lead judgement which favoured Governor Oyetola on the grounds that the tribunal’s ruling read by Justice Peter Obiora amounted to judicial hearsay.
This declaration by the appellate court has now set aside the victory of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the Osun governorship Election Tribunal.
An Osun State Election tribunal had earlier declared Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party winner of the controversial election.
The tribunal also declared the September 27 rerun election in the state illegal.
The three-man panel of the tribunal gave the judgement following the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ademola Adeleke against the All Progressives Congress, APC and its candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.
The tribunal also ruled that PDP and Adeleke proved that it was the state Returning Officer who cancelled the results in 7 Polling Units, adding that the petitioners also proved that the Returning Officer has no power to cancel election results of a polling unit.
The sitting governor, Gboyega Oyetola, however, filed an appeal against the ruling.
