About 50 Lawyers,including 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) have been assembled by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State to establish cases of academic and electoral fraud against the Governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke in the July 16 2022 poll .
The governor,in the petition argued that Adeleke ought not to have been declared winner as he was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having submitted forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commision.
The governor ,who is also seeking 13 reliefs at the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal maintained that the election was fraught with alleged irregularities.
Adeleke was returned elected by the INEC, after defeating his closest challenger, Oyetola, and 13 other candidates,with a total of 403, 371 votes
Oyetola who won in 13 Local Governments out of the 30 in the state got 375, 027 votes.
The governor in the petition claimed to have established by the petition that the election in those 749 polling units across 10 Local Governments in Osun State was characterized by irregularities pertaining to over voting.
Dr Biodun Layonu (SAN), is the leader of the team. The legal team is not complete yet because there are so many others that will still come in.
Other key members of the legal team included Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Chief Akin Olujumi (SAN), Prince Biodun Layonu (SAN/, Muritala Abdulrasheed (SAN).
We have 13 reliefs. What we are contesting is that the election is fraught with certain irregularities by which the person declared winner ought not to have been declared and the petitioner, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola ought to have been declared the winner on the ground that Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having submitted forged certificate to INEC.
“The second is that the election in 749 polling units was fraught with irregularities and the election in those units ought to have been nullified. All the polling units mentioned are in 10 Local Governments, out of 30.
“So, if the election in those units is nullified and the votes are cancelled, then Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola will have comfortable requirements of the constitution to be declared winner of the election.”
Reacting the Chairman, Media Management Team of Osun PDP, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said the party was not losing sleep over the petition.
According to him, many of APC leaders that were saying that the result of the election should be challenged before the tribunal, lost election in their wards, saying APC should have adopted the spirit of sportsmanship regarding the result of the poll.
“It is so unfortunately that APC did not believe in the spirit of sportsmanship. We would have expected them to congratulate Adeleke. Many of them, who are championing the cause of tribunal lost in their polling units and their wards.