On Friday, the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal invalidated the outcome announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which had Senator Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) win the election on June 16, 2022.
The INEC certificate of return that had been given to Mr. Adeleke and his deputy, Kola Adewusi, who had both taken oaths of office, was ordered to be withdrawn by the panel headed by Justice Terste Kume.
It further instructed the electoral authority to issue Mr. Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress the certificate of return in its place (APC).
The governorship election, according to Justice Kume, the Tribunal’s chairman, was not conducted in accordance with Nigeria’s Electoral Act and was marked by overvoting.
He added that after removing the extra votes, Mr. Oyetola, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, really received 314, 921 votes in the election.
In addition to overvoting, the Tribunal revealed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Adegboyega Oyetola, who was the APC’s candidate in the July 16 governorship election, were successful in establishing a case of forgery against Governor Adeleke.
The tribunal said that the PDP candidate had obtained further qualifications and decided that the forgery conviction alone was insufficient to bar him from running in the election.
The only member of the Tribunal to dissented from the majority judgment on over-voting was Justice B.A. Ogbuli, who agreed with it on the subject of forgery.
Following the tribunal’s decision, numerous disputes have developed. The tribunal’s decision was praised by some people while it was derided by others. Groups, attorneys, and party leaders have all commented on the decision.
While there have been carnivals in support of the ruling as well, the state has also noted rallies against it.
However, since Nigeria’s restoration to a democratic form of government in 1999, this was not the first time a tribunal had asked an incumbent to resign or overturned the outcome of a gubernatorial election.
Findings showed that there are cases where a tribunal will remove an incumbent governor, and the appellate courts will uphold that decision.
Here are these instances;
Nyesom Wike
On Saturday, October 24, 2015, the Rivers State Election Tribunal removed Nyesom Wike as governor of Rivers State and called for a new election.
Suleiman Ambrosa presided over the tribunal, which rendered its decision in Abuja.
Dakuku Peterside, the All Progressives Congress candidate, filed the case contesting Mr. Wike’s election as governor of Rivers.
On Saturday, December 16, 2015, the three-member Court of Appeal court in Abuja dismissed Nyesom Wike’s appeal of the Rivers election petition tribunal’s decision to remove him as governor of the state.
The Court decided that Nyesom Wike’s election did not follow the electoral act in a 110-page decision written by Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, and therefore mandated a repeat in 90 days.
The Court of Appeal decided all seven of the concerns presented by Governor Wike in its final decision in favor of Dakuku Peterside and the All Progressives Congress political party.
Chris Ngige
The Anambra State Election Tribunal removed Chris Ngige as the governor of Anambra State in August 2005.
The tribunal ruled that Chris Ngige and the PDP were given an unfair advantage in the election, and that Obi had won in a free and fair election.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Mr. Peter Obi was declared the victor of the state’s April 2003 gubernatorial election by the five-judge bench of the Appeal Court.
The appeals court affirmed the lower court’s ruling that Obi, who yesterday promised to lead an inclusive government, should have been recognized as the duly elected governor of Anambra State and inaugurated in. 15 March 2006.
Olusegun Agagu
Ondo State Elections Petitions Tribunal certified Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor in the 14 April 2007 election, the victor of the election on August 25, 2008, invalidating the election of Olusegun Agagu.
In addition, the five-member panel led by Garba Nabaruma ruled that Mimiko be inaugurated in as the state’s governor right once because he received the necessary votes in 12 of the state’s 18 local governments.
On February 24, 2008, the court of appeal sitting in Benin, the capital of Edo state, confirmed the decision of the election petitions tribunal in Akure, Ondo state, which proclaimed Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the Labour Party’s candidate as winner of the 14th of April, 2007, governorship election in Ondo state.
Oserhiemen Osunbor
On March 20, 2008, the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal declared Professor Oserheimen Osunbor’s victory in the state’s April election to be invalid.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was ordered by the panel to “remove the Certificate of Return issued to Osunbor.
It also mandated that Oshiomhole be given the Certificate of Return after garnering 25% of the votes cast in 12 out of the state’s 18 local government units.
Oserheimen Osunbor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appealed the March 20, 2008 ruling of the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal, which had proclaimed Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, the winner of the state’s April 14, 2007 governorship election, at the Court of Appeal in Benin-City on April 9th.
Oshiomole was recognized as the governor of Edo State by a federal Appeal Court sitting in Benin City on November 11, 2008, upholding the decision of the state’s elections petitions tribunal. Many voting anomalies served as the foundation for the decision.
Segun Oni
Segun Oni was declared the loser of the state’s gubernatorial election by the Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal, which also mandated a new election at the impacted polling places.
Although Segun Oni prevailed in the second round of voting, Kayode Fayemi later appealed Segun Oni’s victory to a higher court.
On October 15, 2010, an appeal court determined that Kayode Fayemi, the Action Congress of Nigeria’s candidate in the 2007 Ekiti gubernatorial election, was the legitimate victor.
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