Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration in Osun State came to an end on Friday when the Osun Election Petitions Tribunal sacked him. His stay in office lasted a mere 62 days!
The tribunal determined that the Independent National Electoral Commission had violated both the provisions of the Electoral Act as amended and the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution when it invalidated the results of the Osun governorship election on July 16.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports the Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Adeleke, the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, the winner of the July 16 election.
Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the University of Lagos’ Vice-Chancellor and the election’s returning officer, declared that Adeleke had received a total of 403,371 votes, defeating APC’s Adegboyega Oyetola, the incumbent governor, who had received 375,027 votes in the hotly contested race.
The PDP won 17 of Osun’s 30 local government areas (LGAs) in the 3,763 polling units that made up the election, while the APC received more votes in the other 13 LGAs. The PDP won in Ede North, Ede South, Ifelodun, Boluwaduro, Egbedore, Odo Otin, Osogbo, Ila, Atakumosa West, Olorunda, Ilesa West, Obokun, Oriade, Orolu, Ife North, Irepodun, and Ejigbo LGAs.
The APC, on the other hand, won in Boripe, Ilesa East, Ayedire, Ifedayo, Ife Central, Ayedaade, Iwo, Olaoluwa, Isokan, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Ife South, and Ife East LGAs. Out of the 1,955,657 registered voters in the state, 1,479,595 Permanent Voter Cards were collected before the election.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that Adeleke’s victory raised the PDP-governed states’ tally to 14, with the ruling APC states dropping to 21.
But the hope of Adeleke, known for his dancing skills and fondly referred to as the ‘Dancing Senator’, was dashed on Friday after the tribunal annulled the result of the July 16 governorship poll.
While delivering a majority decision vote, Justice Tetsea Kume ruled that INEC did not comply substantially with the constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act.
He subsequently deducted the over-voting observed from the votes scored by the candidates and declared that Oyetola won the election, having polled 314, 921, while Adeleke’s score came down to 290, 266.
He directed INEC to withdraw Adeleke’s certificate of return and issue another one to Oyetola who won a majority of the lawful votes.