The administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke in Osun State came to an abrupt end on Friday when the Osun Election Petitions Tribunal removed him from office after just 62 days. The tribunal annulled the results of the July 16 governorship election, determining that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had failed to adhere to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the amended Electoral Act.
Initially, INEC had declared Adeleke, the candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the winner of the election. The Returning Officer, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, announced that Adeleke received a total of 403,371 votes, defeating the incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 375,027 votes in a closely contested race. The election took place across 3,763 polling units in the 30 local government areas of Osun State, where the PDP won in 17 local government areas, while the APC secured more votes in the remaining 13.
The PDP’s victories included local government areas such as Ede North, Ede South, Ifelodun, Boluwaduro, Egbedore, Odo Otin, Osogbo, Ila, Atakumosa West, Olorunda, Ilesa West, Obokun, Oriade, Orolu, Ife North, Irepodun, and Ejigbo. In contrast, the APC achieved victories in Boripe, Ilesa East, Ayedire, Ifedayo, Ife Central, Ayedaade, Iwo, Olaoluwa, Isokan, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Ife South, and Ife East. Out of the 1,955,657 registered voters in the state, 1,479,595 Permanent Voter Cards were collected prior to the election.
Adeleke’s victory had increased the number of PDP-governed states to 14, while reducing the ruling APC states to 21. However, his aspirations, known for his dancing skills and affectionately called the ‘Dancing Senator,’ were dashed when the tribunal ruled against him. In a majority decision, Justice Tetsea Kume stated that INEC had not substantially complied with the constitutional and electoral provisions. He subsequently recalculated the votes, revealing that Oyetola had actually won the election with 314,921 votes, while Adeleke’s total was adjusted to 290,266. The tribunal directed INEC to withdraw Adeleke’s certificate of return and issue a new one to Oyetola, who was declared the winner based on the lawful votes.
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