Tribunal reserves judgement in Osun governorship election petition

The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal in Abuja has reserved judgement to a date that would be communicated to the parties.

This followed the adoption of final written addresses by parties on Thursday before the tribunal sitting at the FCT High Court in Apo.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election, Senator Ademola Adeleke and the party urged the state to uphold their petition and declare them the winner of the September 22/27, 2018 election in the state.

This is even as the state governor, Isiaka Oyetola, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition which he described as a bedlam full of confusion.

Adopting his final written address, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Lasco Pwahomdi, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition with substantial cost in favour of the electoral umpire.

Counsels for Oyetola and the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) also urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition, with Olanipekun describing the petition as “a bedlam full of confusions”.

However, counsel for the petitioners, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), said based on the result of the election of September 22, 2018, Adeleke had satisfied the provisions of the law and ought to have been declared the winner of the election.

He said the petitioners tendered the pink copies of result sheets as well as the certified true copies (CTCs) of the original sheets which were allegedly doctored, altered and mutilated and clearly showed discrepancies to the pink copies.

Ikpeazu told the tribunal that it was for INEC to defend the irregularities reported by the petitioners, adding that while the returning officer could not act beyond the provision of the law, the electoral body could not act outside of the provision of Section 179 of the Electoral Act.

After listening to the submissions of parties, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Sirajo Ibrahim Mohammed, adjourned judgement till a date that he said would be communicated to parties.