The Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal has reserved judgment in the petition by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, in the September 2018 governorship election.
The PDP and Adeleke are challenging the declaration of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The tribunal, yesterday, after entertaining final arguments and adoption of written addresses by lawyers to the parties, announced that judgment had been reserved.
Tribunal Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, said parties would be informed, at least, 48 hours before the date of delivery of the judgment.
Wole Olanipekun (SAN) appeared for Oyetola; Akin Olujinmi (SAN) represented the APC, while Lasco Pwahomdi appeared for INEC.
In adopting their separate final addresses, Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Pwahomdi urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their case.
Lawyer to the petitioners, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), while adopting his final address, urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and grant all the reliefs prayed by the petitioners.
Thursday’s proceeding was witnessed by the Osun State Governor, who was accompanied by some officials of the state.
He was dressed in white agbada, but declined to speak with the media, who sought his views after the tribunal’s proceedings.
Adeleke, who attended the tribunal’s sittings during the trial period, was absent yesterday.
In adopting his final address, Olanipekun noted that the petition was full of confusing claims and betrayed the petitioners’ lack of understanding of the nation’s election petition jurisprudence.
Olanipekun noted that the petitioners have admitted breaching the electoral law by seeking that some of their votes be quashed.
He added: “They are also asking the tribunal to quash some of their votes. A self-confessed petitioner, who has in writing, admitted infringing the law, cannot be asking to be returned as a winner of the election. In their relief seven, they want the court to nullify the certificate of return, but they failed to present the certificate before the tribunal.
Where is that certificate? Can the tribunal nullify what is not before it? They said the Certificate of Return is with us. If it is with us, should they not have given us notice to produce it? They did not give us notice to produce,” Olanipekun said.
