On Monday, the Court of Appeal reserved judgment to decide on the case brought by Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, challenging the decision of an election petition tribunal that nullified his victory in the state governorship election.
A three-member panel led by Mohammed Shuaibu fixed the date to decide on the matter after taking the argument and adopting the briefs of all parties in the suit.
During proceedings, on Monday, Counsel to Adeleke, Onyechi Ikpeazu, held that a member of the panel, who is also a chief magistrate, did not air her opinion during the judgment delivery. Rather, she only appended her signature, and the constitution mandates that she have aired her views about the suit.
Counsel to Oyetola, Lateef Fagbemi, however, held that the mere signing of the judgment and not making any comment afterward do not make the judgment invalid.
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He noted that the case of overvoting exceeded six polling units, as claimed by the appellant, and added that the anomaly was experienced in 744 polling units across the state.
Adeleke, who is a candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner of the election held on July 16, 2022, the result of which was nullified on the grounds of over-voting.
Adeleke had, in February, appealed the judgment of the Osun State Governorship Tribunal, which nullified his election.
The tribunal ruled in favour of the immediate past governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola. While delivering the judgment, two out of the three-member panel of the tribunal held that Oyetola proved that there was overvoting in some of the polling units.
