The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal that nullified the victory of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke in the July 16 governorship election. In a Notice of Appeal dated 30 January 2023, filed before the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, and obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, the commission listed 44 grounds of appeal and asked the court to set aside the tribunal’s decision. The appellant also requested that the court dismiss the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola, on the basis that it lacks merit.
The tribunal panel, led by Justice Tertsea Kume, had nullified Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola the duly elected governor in its judgment of 27 January 2023. The panel found that over‑voting occurred in 744 polling units and deducted the excess votes from the totals of both Adeleke and Oyetola. However, a minority judgment delivered by another panel member, Justice A. Ogbuli, dismissed the APC’s petition and upheld Adeleke’s victory.
In the Notice of Appeal, signed by INEC counsel Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN) and 17 others, the commission challenged the tribunal’s decision on several legal grounds. It argued that the panel erred in law by concluding that Adeleke did not obtain the majority of lawful votes, noting that the petitioners called only two witnesses who failed to prove that the PDP candidate lost the election. INEC also contended that the tribunal wrongly used a table from the petitioners’ final written address to determine over‑voting and to deduct votes from the respondent.
Furthermore, the electoral body rejected the tribunal’s claim that INEC’s issuance of different accreditation reports amounted to tampering with official documents. It emphasized that allegations of tampering are criminal in nature and must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and that no evidence was presented to show any alteration of records by the panel.
Comments are closed for this story.