Adeleke Survives as S’Court Affirms His Election, PDP, Buhari, Tinubu Celebrate
•President urges citizens to team up with governor to develop state
•I’ll govern with God’s fear, Adeleke promises, says verdict historic
•It’s evident BVAS has come to stay, Atiku declares
Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Alex Enumah in Abuja and Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
Senator Ademola Adeleke survived a spirited challenge to his victory at the July 16, 2022 governorship poll in Osun State, as the Supreme Court, yesterday, affirmed his election, which had been imperilled by former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s appeal.
President Muhammadu Buhari and President-elect Bola Tinubu, among other prominent Nigerians, celebrated the Supreme Court’s verdict as victory for the country’s democracy.
Buhari urged the people of Osun State to support Adeleke, as the governor hailed the “historic” judgement and promised to govern with the fear of God.
Adeleke’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congratulated him on his legal victory and saluted the judiciary for its thoroughness and professionalism in adjudicating in the matter.
At the same time, the state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) said it received the verdict of the Supreme Court, which affirmed Adeleke’s victory, with equanimity, bearing in mind that in a contest, someone must emerge winner.
The presidential candidate of PDP in the last general election, Atiku Abubakar, said the Supreme Court decision was indicative of the fact that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had come to stay as a legal instrument for the accreditation and transmission of election results in Nigeria.
A five-member panel of justices of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro, affirmed Adeleke’s victory at the July 16, 2022 governorship poll, after dismissing Oyetola’s appeal. The appeal sought to reverse the judgement of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which declared Adeleke lawful winner of the poll.
Oyetola had approached the apex court for an order setting aside the decision of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which voided the judgement of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal. The tribunal had returned Oyetola as winner of the governorship election.
INEC had after the poll last year declared Adeleke winner, saying he scored a total of 403,371 votes to defeat the then sitting governor, Oyetola, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored a total of 375,027 votes, with a winning margin of 28,344 votes.
Dissatisfied, Oyetola approached the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to challenge Adeleke’s victory, alleging non-compliance with the electoral laws and non-qualification on grounds of certificate forgery.
The tribunal, in a split judgement of two-to-one delivered on January 27 this year, agreed with Oyetola and overturned Adeleke’s victory.
According to the majority judgement delivered by the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tertsea Kume, there were incidents of over voting in favour of Adeleke, which, when deducted, revealed that Oyetola polled 314,921 votes as against Adeleke’s 290,266.
The tribunal, accordingly, ordered the withdrawal of Certificate of Return issued to Adeleke, and the issuance of a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor.
However, following Adeleke’s appeal in February, the appellate court’s three-man panel, in its own judgement by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, voided and set aside the decision of the tribunal on the grounds that the tribunal erred in holding that a case of over voting was established, consequent upon which Adeleke’s votes were deducted.
The judgement of the Court of Appeal setting aside the ruling of the tribunal and affirming Adeleke’s election as governor, prompted Oyetola to take his case to the Supreme Court.
Oyetola, alongside his party, APC, through their lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, accordingly filed two appeals marked: SC/ CV/510/2023 and SC/ CV/511/2023.
While the first appeal was in respect of the judgement in Adeleke’s appeal, the second was in respect of their own cross appeal, which was dismissed by the appellate court for lacking in merit.
Delivering judgement in Oyetola’s appeal, the apex court held that there was no reason whatsoever to deviate from the judgement of the appellate court, which voided the judgement of the tribunal for erring in law.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered the judgement of the apex court, held that the appeal was incompetent and lacking in merit. He disclosed that the judgement was based on issues raised by Oyetola in his appeal, which bordered on non-compliance (partial or non use of BVAS for accreditation of voters in some polling units) and alleged forgery.
According to the justices, Oyetola failed to prove allegations of non-compliance in 744 polling units in 10 local governments areas in Osun State.
Agim pointed out that since BVAS was the sole foundation of Oyetola’s case, “It was imperative they produce BVAS from the 744 polling units or Certified True Copies of the content of the BVAS to show non-accreditation, improper accreditation and over voting.
“It is glaring that the appellant did not provide in evidence, any BVAS, but sought to prove over-voting by means of a report of examination of INEC’s database or backend server.”
The apex court faulted the reliance of the appellants on the BVAS, and pointed out that the BVAS was a third hand record derived from the database, which was a second-hand evidence derived from transmissions from the BVAS.
Accordingly, the apex court held, “It is the content of the BVAS that can prove the number of accredited voters,” just as it noted that the information at the backend server might not be accurate, because the BVAS might fail to transmit records, due to several reasons, such as poor internet connection, loss of battery power, failure of INEC officials to properly press the submit button etc.
Agim stated, “So the database or any extract of it contains only what is transmitted from the BVAS to it and, therefore, cannot be a complete and accurate record of the information in the BVAS.”
Besides, the apex court faulted the appellants for also ignoring INEC voters’ register or form EC8A, which shows the number of votes cast at each polling unit, to prove their case.
Agim maintained that the voter’s register was still relevant in voter accreditation and was to be used alongside the BVAS machine in proving over-voting. He added that the appellant did not provide the voters’ register in the affected 744 polling units to prove his case.
The unanimous judgement also faulted the evidence of the “expert witness” on the grounds that he was not an independent witness but a staff of Oyetola, who “has no personal knowledge of the case, was not present in any of the polling units…”.
According to Agim, his testimony amounts to a “hearsay” and is inadmissible in law, and, “It is glaring from the foregoing that the appellants did not adduce relevant admissible evidence to prove non-accreditation of voters, improper accreditation of voters and over-voting. It is obvious that the appellant case collapses out of lack of evidence.”
Agim explained that by virtue of Section 131 and Section 133(1)(2) of the Evidence Act, the appellants had the primary legal burden to prove the facts asserted by them in their petition.
“The Court of Appeal correctly found that the appellants failed to prove grounds two and three of their petition and correctly allowed the appeal on those grounds to set aside the decision of the tribunal,” he said.
On the second issue of qualification, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal in two separate judgements had settled the educational status of Adeleke, adding that the appellant, instead of relying on ordinary suspicion, ought to have called on the institution that awarded the certificate to Adeleke to confirm or deny.
The Supreme Court declared the entire judgement of the tribunal a nullity. It said the judgement of the lower tribunal was a nullity because it failed to consider the issue of jurisdiction raised by Adeleke, stressing that jurisdiction is crucial to the hearing of any case.
Buhari Hails Judgement, Rallies Support for Adeleke
President Muhammadu Buhari, in a release by his media adviser, Femi Adesina, reminded the political class and their supporters that the main task at hand now was to make the people feel the impact of good governance, where a prosperous, peaceful and stable Osun would be guaranteed.
According to Buhari, “Elections should be seen as the path to an end, which is the progress of the people in a peaceful environment, rather than unending bickering. This is the time for inclusion and harmony in the state at the end of litigation.”
Buhari thanked the people of Osun State for contributing immensely to the development of the country, particularly through the state’s rich cultural heritage, the several historic sites and tourist attractions, including the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The president trusted that the government would continue to develop the boundless resources in the state, to complement the role of the government at the centre on national development and prosperity.
Tinubu to Adeleke: Unite Osun State
President-elect Bola Tinubu, yesterday, congratulated the Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, on his victory at the Supreme Court, urging him to now move quickly to unite the state.
Tinubu said everyone must respect the judgement of the final court in the land on the Osun governorship tussle.
He also commended the immediate-past governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola, for discharging himself creditably during his first term and for deepening democracy by pursuing his democratic rights peacefully to the end.
In a statement by his office, signed by Tunde Rahman, the president-elect said, “I congratulate Mr. Ademola Adeleke over his declaration by the Supreme Court as the winner of Osun governorship election. The apex court in the land has spoken and all of us must obey its verdict. It is the right thing to do for democracy and rule of law to continue to thrive in the land.
“I must also commend the immediate-past governor of the state, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, for exercising his democratic rights as the constitution allows him to do. Governor Oyetola discharged himself creditably in office. He lost the office but did not lose his integrity and reputation as the governor, who brought efficiency, transparency and accountability to the business of governance.
“Now that the matter of the July 16, 2022 Osun State governorship election has been brought to a close, I urge Governor Adeleke to immediately settle down to work and continue from where the former governor left it. He should now move to unite the state. I also urge all the people of Osun to work for peace and progress in the state.”
Adeleke: I’ll Govern Osun with Fear of God
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, shortly after the Supreme Court verdict, yesterday, vowed to govern the state with the fear of God.
Reacting to the judgement of the Supreme Court at his hometown, Ede, Adeleke said, “This is a historic landmark in the history of Osun politics. Today is the day our God ordained to stand his authority as the owner and giver of power.
“Today is that moment, when the will of the people ordained by God survived anti-masses plot of powerful forces. We, therefore, celebrate God Almighty. We dedicate today’s victory to Him. State power is of God and he bestows it in whomever he wishes.
“I will remain God’s driven, divinely inspired. I will govern with the fear of God. Our governorship is an affirmation that we are for the people, by the people.
“As a moral compass, affirming the integrity of my lord justices, your affirmation for the truth and peoples will, consolidate and strengthen our democracy, On behalf of Osun people we appreciate you and adore your love for justice and equity.”
“To all stakeholders in the Osun project, be assured that the revalidation of our mandate is a challenge, a call to duty, a fresh demand for more dividend of democracy. I commit myself to more expanded delivery of good governance. In me, you will find a true pro-people governor.
“I seek support of all Osun residents and citizens, irrespective of party affiliation. This is our state and we must join hands to develop it. My appreciation goes to my family, my wives, Titi and Ngozi, and children. To all Imole in Nigeria and abroad, thank you for standing by me. I want to thank my brothers and sisters.
“My people of Osun State, the good job continues. We’ll wrap up the implementation of our five points agenda. We shall focus on grassroots development. We shall embark on agricultural revival of our dear state. Our policies shall fight poverty, insecurity, unemployment and underdevelopment. You shall truthfully feel and enjoy the dividend of democracy.”
PDP Congratulates Adeleke, Hails Judiciary
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, congratulated the governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on his victory at the Supreme Court.
In a statement by National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, PDP said, “The verdict of the Supreme Court, the highest court in our country, serves as the ultimate triumph of the will of the people of Osun State as expressed at the polling units, in their resolve to free their state from oppressive, retrogressive and anti-people forces.
“The judgement of the Supreme Court has further restored the confidence Nigerians repose in the institution of the judiciary and the hope for the sustenance of democracy in our country.”
PDP also commended the Supreme Court for its courage in upholding justice and reaffirming the saying that “the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.
“Our party congratulates the good people of Osun State and restate its charge to Governor Adeleke to continue in his stride to reposition and rebuild the state in line with the people-oriented policies, programmes and manifesto of the PDP.”
We Received It With Equanimity, Osun APC Says
Osun State chapter of APC said it received the verdict of the Supreme Court, which affirmed Ademola Adeleke’s victory as governor, with equanimity, bearing in mind that in a contest, someone must win.
Acting Chairman of APC in the state, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, said Supreme Court decisions were final, which could not be challenged in any other court of the land
Lawal submitted that as a democratic political body that solely believed in the rule of law, “there is no way that we can fault the judgement of the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the land, even though we are not happy with the judicial decision.
“While we are congratulating the beneficiary of the judgement, we make bold to state that we shall not be found wanting in playing our expected opposition role in order to keep the government on its toes.
“The members and supporters of our party should refuse to be downcast with the current political situation in the state as the nature of politics is that one doesn’t win all the time.
“The prevailing condition of the winner(s) of today does not make him the perpetual winner, as the political office, which was contested for, is a tenured one for a period of four years, after which we shall have the opportunity to slug it out with those who are rejoicing over today’s victory.
“It is, however, worthwhile to state that our party and our candidate, former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, might have lost the election, as it was pronounced by the apex court of the land, but it is visible to the court of the public that they never lost the battle.
“That Osun State is a common patrimony is the reason why we are assuring the PDP and the government that we shall be meeting in the trenches when it’s constitutionally ripe to do so. The way forward for our party shall be made available to the esteemed members and supporters soonest.”
BVAS Has Come to Stay, Atiku Declares
Presidential candidate of PDP and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had come to stay as a legal instrument for the accreditation and transmission of election results in Nigeria.
Atiku made the declaration in his response to the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State.
In a press statement by his media office, Atiku congratulated the people of Osun for the affirmation of their collective mandate given to Adeleke. The former vice president said the introduction of technology in the conduct of elections in Nigeria was a progress that could not be reversed.
According to Atiku, “We are all witnesses to the copious references to the BVAS technology in coming up with this judgement. The law governing our elections has truly brought power to the people, and those power mongering politicians, who believe that they can freely subvert the inherent power of democracy, now have their hopes dashed.”
The PDP presidential candidate urged Nigerians to take keen interest in the development of democracy in the country, saying, “We must not put the laws in our hands but remain vigilant because, as the saying goes, ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’”.
Obaseki, Oyinlola Greet Adeleke
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and former Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, congratulated Adeleke on his victory at the Supreme Court.
Obaseki, in a statement, hailed the Supreme Court for upholding the wish of the people of Osun State, describing the verdict as “a triumph of justice”.
Obaseki said in the statement, “I congratulate my friend and brother, the governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, over the Supreme Court verdict, which validated his victory in the 2022 Osun State Governorship election.
“The verdict is a triumph of justice. The apex court has once again stood by the people in validating the elections, in which the people of Osun State voted convincingly to elect the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ademola Adeleke, as their governor.
“It is a triumph of good and the people of Osun State are assured of quality governance by their beloved governor. With the verdict, Osun State will continue to enjoy the good dividends of democracy and are assured of responsible and quality governance.”
On his part, Oyinlola, in a statement, said the decision of the Supreme Court affirming Adeleke’s governorship represented the voice of the people, which was the voice of God.
While promising his continued support for Adeleke, his deputy and their government, Oyinlola prayed that God would continue to guide them in the divine task to reposition the state.
He urged Osun State citizens of all political persuasions to put the last election behind them and give their support to Adeleke and his government.
