…Buhari, Tinubu congratulate Gov Adeleke
…Adeleke dedicates victory to God, thanks judiciary for upholding peoples’ votes
The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, affirmed the election of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the authentic Governor of Osun State and finally stopped the wish of former Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, in the keenly contested governorship poll on July 16, 2022.
A five-member panel of the Justices of the Supreme Court (JSCs) led by Justice John Okoro unanimously upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which had earlier on March 24, affirmed Adeleke’s victory.
The apex court, which said it found no reason to set aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal in Adeleke’s favour, also awarded N500,000 damages against Oyetola and the PDP.
The apex court further held that though Oyetola alleged that Adeleke won through over-voting in 774 polling units in the state, the ex-governor failed to adduce any substantial evidence to support his claim.
The Supreme Court said, “It is glaring that the appellant did not provide in evidence any BVAS, but sought to prove over-voting by means of a report of examination of INEC’s database or backend server.
It is instructive to note that the apex court’s decision has finally laid to rest the dispute over the outcome of the governorship election and extinguishes Oyetola’s hopes of coming back to office after his momentary victory at the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in January.
The apex court also agreed with the Court of Appeal that Oyetola and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), failed “to adduce relevant evidence to prove their case.”
Affirming the lower court’s decision, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal “correctly found that the appellants failed to prove their case” against Adeleke and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Supreme Court specifically held that “It was imperative that the appellants (Oyetola and APC) produced the BIVAS machines or certified true copies of the BIVAS in evidence to show non-accreditation and over-voting.”
Justice Emmanuel Agim, a member of the five -man panel, who read the lead judgement, held that, “It is the record in the BIVAS machines that can prove the number of accredited voters in a polling unit and nothing else.”
“The appellant had a primary burden to prove the fact asserted by them in their petition. It is obvious that the appellants’ case collapsed.”
On Oyetola’s allegation of forgery levelled against Adeleke, the Supreme Court held that Oyetola and APC did not substantiate their claims.
JSC Agim said, “No evidence was adduced to prove the case of forgery against Adeleke. In the absence of such evidence, the allegation is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.”
Regarding the tribunal’s jurisdiction to hear the petition, the Supreme Court faulted the tribunal for refusing to determine Adeleke’s preliminary objection challenging its power to entertain the suit.
The JSC then said in a damning verdict, “This renders the entire hearing of the case by the tribunal a nullity. It ought to have determined the issue of jurisdiction before going into the substantive petition.
“The entire proceedings of the tribunal remain a nullity.
“Since it was signed by two members of the panel it is valid. But she ought to have said something.
“On the whole this appeal fails and it is hereby dismissed.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Adeleke of the PDP as the winner of the election in an upset that deprived Oyetola, the then incumbent governor, a second term in office.
The INEC Chief Returning Officer for Osun, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who announced the result on the day after the election, said the PDP candidate scored 403,371 votes to emerge victorious.
Adeleke defeated Oyetola, who polled 375,027 votes to come second in the race.
Dissastified with INEC’s result, Oyetola had approached the election petitions tribunal in Osogbo, the state capital, to challenge the outcome of the poll.
He anchored his petition on complaints in 744 polling units in 10 local government areas of Osun State.
He also alleged that the election in the polling units was marred by overvoting, failing to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act by not using the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.
The three-member tribunal in a split decisions on 27 January, ruled in favour of Oyetola, by declaring him the winner of the election, while it removed Adeleke from office.
The majority two-to-one decision ordered INEC to issue the certificate of return to Oyetola.
In the lead majority judgement read by Terste Kume, the tribunal held that INEC failed to conduct the Osun governorship election in compliance with the Electoral Act.
It noted that the poll was marred by over-voting. It said after deducting the excessive votes that were cast, the figure Mr Adeleke scored came down to 290,666, which was lower than the 314,921 garnered by Oyetola.
Consequently, the tribunal ordered that Oyetola be returned as governor of Osun State.
But in the minority decision, the second member of the tribunal, P. A Ogbuli said the petitioners – Oyetola and the APC – failed to prove that there were cases of over-voting in the governorship election.
Ogbuli noted that the petitioners’ witnesses in their testimony before the panel did not convince him that there was over-voting.
He said the petitioners should have brought the total registered voters to court to claim that over-voting occurred.
Adeleke, who remained in office to exhaust his right of appeal, later appealed against the decision of the tribunal.
Upholding Adeleke’s victory in March, the Court of Appeal held that the tribunal was wrong in its conclusion that that the election in some parts of the states was marred by over-voting, the pivotal legal issue thrown up in Oyetola’s case.
The appellate court further held that “the burden of proving the allegations of over-voting lies squarely with the respondents ( Oyetola and the APC).”
“It is inconceivable to assume that the testimonies of the respondents’ witnesses had any probative value.
The Court of Appeal noted that Oyetola and the APC “did not tender the voter registers and Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS machines,” which captured data of eligible voters at the Osun governorship election.
The appellate court then said, “Though the 1st and 2nd respondents (Oyetola and APC) relied on BVAS reports obtained from INEC to prove over-voting, they did not, nonetheless, call petitioner’s witness 1 to speak to the reports, that is, Exhibits BVR reports from INEC’s back-end server.
“In their pleadings,” Oyetola and APC “alleged that the results recorded and transmitted directly from the polling units were not taken into account and therefore accredited voters recorded in Form EC8A from the disputed polling units do not tally with the number of BVAS for the same polling units.
“Strangely, the tribunal, in its judgment, only relied on the table set out in an address of counsel to hold that over voting occurred in an election.”
Buhari, Tinubu congratulate Gov Adeleke
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Adeleke and called for inclusion and harmony in Osun.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari urged Osun people to support Adeleke’s administration to ensure that “programmes, policies, plans and aspirations fashioned to make individuals and businesses flourish succeed.”
Buhari said, “Elections should be seen as the path to an end, which is the progress of the people in a peaceful environment, rather than unending bickering.
“This is the time for inclusion and harmony in the state at the end of litigation.”
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has also congratulated Governor Adeleke over his victory at the Supreme Court.
A statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, also quoted Tinubu as saying that, “The apex court in the land has spoken and all of us must obey its verdict. It is the right thing to do for democracy and rule of law to continue to thrive in the land.
“I must also commend the immediate-past governor of the state, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, for exercising his democratic rights as the constitution allows him to do.
“Governor Oyetola discharged himself creditably in office. He lost the office but did not lose his integrity and reputation as the governor who brought efficiency, transparency and accountability to the business of governance.”
Tinubu further advised Adeleke to “immediately settle down to work and continue from where the former governor left it.”
Gov Adeleke dedicates victory to God
In a related development, Governor Adeleke has dedicated his victory at the apex court to God and thanked the judiciary for upholding the peoples’ choice and his mandate.
Speaking with journalists after the Supreme Court verdict, Adeleke, who was flanked by his elder sister, Mrs Dupe Adeleke-Sanni, and his wives, Titilola and Ngozi, stated that the decision of the apex court would consolidate and strengthen the country’s democracy.
He said, “To the judiciary, Osun has emerged as a moral compass, affirming the integrity of My Lord Justices.
Your affirmation for truth and people’s will consolidates and strengthens our democracy. On behalf of Osun people, we appreciate you and we adore your love for justice and equity.
“To all stakeholders in the Osun project, be assured that the revalidation of our mandate is a challenge, a call to duty, a fresh demand for more dividends of democracy.
I commit myself to an even more expanded delivery of good governance; in me, you will find a truly pro-people governor.
I seek support and cooperation of all Osun residents and citizens irrespective of party affiliations. This is our state and we must join hands to develop it.”
Osun State chapter of the APC also congratulated Adeleke and urged its members not to be downcast “as the nature of politics is that one doesn’t win all the times.”
In a statement signed by its acting chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, the APC said, “While we are congratulating the beneficiary of the judgement, we make bold to state that we shall not be found wanton in playing our expected opposition roles in order to keep the government on its toes.”
