Appeal Court reserves judgement on Osun Governorship
Appeal Court sitting in Akure, Monday, reserved judgement in the suit brought before it by Governor Ademola Adeleke seeking to vacate the ruling of the Osun State Governorship Elections Tribunal which had annulled his victory at the elections, and also declared the then incumbent Adegboyega Oyetola as winner.
Adeleke had, on February 9, filed an appeal at the court which it prayed to set aside the ruling of the tribunal.
Adeleke had called the tribunal’s ruling, last month, ‘a miscarriage of justice.’
Two out of the three-member tribunal panel had affirmed that Oyetola proved there was over-voting in some of the polling units during the governorship elections.
However, weeks later, Adeleke filed an appeal before the Akure division of the appellant court on the 31 grounds of appeal, praying to the court for “an order setting aside the whole decision of the tribunal”.
“The tribunal, in its judgment, erred in law and displayed bias against the appellant when it made reference to the appellant’s dance at his inauguration as governor of Osun State, which was never an issue before the lower tribunal,” the governor noted.
“By referring to the appellant’s personal eccentricity for dancing, the lower tribunal derided and mocked him in a manner suggesting that it was biased against him.
“The appearance of bias manifests in reference to the Appellant’s proclivity for dancing, particularly the Buga song, has rendered the decision of the lower Tribunal a nullity.
“The tribunal in its judgment erred in law in returning the 1st respondent (Oyetola) as the duly elected candidate without due regard to the enormity of the voters in the units where the results were cancelled for over-voting,” Adeleke claimed.
