The Supreme Court will on July 5, 2019, deliver judgement in the appeals filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2018 Osun governorship election, Ademola Adeleke, and its party against, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State.
Oyetola is of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Adeleke is challenging the verdict of the Appeal court which affirmed that Oyetola was duly elected.
The date for the judgement was given after the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, took the final arguments in respect of the main appeal by Adeleke.
Other members of the panel are Justices Olabode Rhodes-Vivour; Kumai Aka’ahs; Kudirat Kekere-Ekun; Amiru Sanusi; Paul Galunmje and Uwani Abbah-Aji.
Adeleke, who filed four appeals, is challenging the May 9, 2019 judgments of the Court of Appeal, Abuja which affirmed the election of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of Osun State.
It would be recalled that the verdict of the Court of Appeal upholding the election of Oyetola came after the March 22, 2019 judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which declared Adeleke the winner of the election.
According to the majority decision by Justices Peter Obiorah and Adegboye Gbolagunte, Adeleke was the winner.
But Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, who chaired the tribunal, however, in a minority judgment struck out the petition on the grounds that the petitioners did not prove their case.
The verdict of the tribunal was challenged by Oyetola, his party, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
They appealed the majority judgment of the tribunal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
The Court of Appeal’s majority judgement set aside the majority judgment of the election tribunal.
That was as it upheld the result as declared by INEC and insisted that Oyetola was the winner of the election.
Justices Jummai Sankey, Abubakar Yahaya, Isaiah Akeju and Bitrus Sanga gave the majority decision, while Justice George Mbaba gave the minority judgment, in which he dismissed the appeals and upheld the cross-appeal.
