INNOCENT OWEH; PASCHAL NJOKU

ABUJA  – President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday canvassed support for the programmes, policies, and as­pirations of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State following the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming his victory in the July 16, 2022 governorship election in the state.

With the final decision by the court, President Buhari remind­ed the political class and their supporters that the main task at hand is to make the people feel the impact of good governance, where a prosperous, peaceful and stable Osun is guaranteed.

He, therefore, urged all citizens and residents of the state, particu­larly her notable sons and daugh­ters, to give the government of Senator Ademola Adeleke all the support it needs to ensure that programmes, policies, plans and aspirations fashioned to make in­dividuals and businesses flourish succeed.

According to him, “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.”

President Buhari thanked the people of Osun for contrib­uting immensely to the develop­ment of the nation, 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 trusts that the government will continue to de­velop the boundless resources in the state of the Living Spring, complementing the roles of the government at the centre on national development and pros­perity.

Supreme Court Affirms Adeleke As Osun Governor

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had on March 24, 2023 rein­stated Senator Ademola Adeleke as the governor of Osun State.

Adeleke’s reinstatement fol­lowed the setting aside of the judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal delivered on January 27, 2023, which had sacked him from office.

In a lead judgment on an ap­peal by former Governor Gboye­ga Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), delivered by Jus­tice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court unanimously dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.

The five-man panel led by Jus­tice Inyang John Okoro held that the appellant (Oyetola) failed to prove his case of over voting in 744 polling units of 10 local gov­ernment areas in Osun State.

“This appeal fails and lacks merit, and liable for dismissal. The judgment of the court below delivered on March 24, 2023 is af­firmed”, Justice Agim ordered.

The panel held that the tribu­nal erred on the side of the law by not giving ruling on the objec­tions raised by the respondents.

Justice Agim said the tribunal glossed over the preliminary ob­jection and went straight to deliv­er its judgment.

“Issues raised by the respon­dents at the tribunal in the objec­tion to the petition were funda­mental, which the tribunal ought not to have decided upon.

“The tribunal should have considered the preliminary appli­cations challenging jurisdiction and competence of the petition”, Justice Agim stated.

The Supreme Court held that not ruling on the objections raised by Adeleke amounted to denying him the right to fair hearing.

“It is settled law that where a party contends that a court has no jurisdiction to hear a case, it behooves on the court to first de­termine if it has jurisdiction or not”, Justice Agim held.

Consequently, the court dis­missed the entire proceedings of the tribunal as a nullity.

The Supreme Court stated that “it is the data and record in the BVAS machine that can prove the number of accredited or regis­tered voters in a particular polling unit.

“It was imperative for the ap­pellant to produce the BVAS or certified true copy of content of records in the device, which they did not tender in evidence.”

Recall that Adeleke of the Peo­ples Democratic Party (PDP) won the said governorship election held on July 16, 2022, but the result was nullified by the tribunal on the grounds of over-voting.

Oyetola and his party, the APC, had in August 2022, petitioned the tribunal to challenge the victory of Adeleke on the grounds that he did not qualify to contest the election and that there was over voting in 744 polling units across 10 local government areas of the state.

Consequently, a three-man panel of the tribunal ordered Adeleke’s sack, and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to him and issue a fresh one to Oye­tola.

Miffed by the decision of the tribunal, Adeleke, PDP and INEC, all headed to the appellate court to seek redress.

Delivering judgment, the pan­el led by Justice Mohamed Lawal Shuaibu held that the tribunal erred on the side of law by not addressing the issues raised by Adeleke in his preliminary ob­jection to Oyetola’s petition.

Justice Shuaibu added that Oyetola and APC, being the pe­titioners at the tribunal, did not prove with cogent evidence, the allegation of over voting and noncompliance with the Elector­al Act.

The panel held that it was wrong for Oyetola and APC to rely on report from INEC back end server to allege over voting without tendering in evidence, BVAS device, voters register and result collation forms to validate their claims.

Also, the court held that the tribunal was wrong to have re­lied on the table produced from back end server and not from data contained in the BVAS device to claim over voting.

On the issue of certification of court processes as required by law, the panel resolved it against the appellant.

The court noted that there was evidence that the respon­dents paid the necessary fees for certification of the court papers, insisting that not paying within stipulated time cannot vitiate the legality of the documents.

On the issue of bias raised by Adeleke against chairman of the tribunal, Justice Shuaibu, who condemned in the strongest terms the said utterances of the panelist, said such comment did not in any way affect or influ­enced outcome of the tribunal’s judgment.

“On the whole, the appeal is meritorious and thereby allowed.

“The 1st and 2nd respondents shall pay cost of N500,000 each to the appellant”, the panel held.

Jubilation In Osun As Adeleke Dedi­cates Victory To God

Again, jubilation erupted across Osun State on Tuesday with the affirmation of Ademola Adeleke as the duly elected gov­ernor of Osun State in the July 16 governorship election in the state.

Shortly after the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the elec­tion of Adeleke, residents trooped out in their numbers across the state particularly in Ede, home­town of the governor, to celebrate the victory of the governor.

Meanwhile, reacting to the judgment, Senator Ademola Adeleke, who dedicated the vic­tory to God, described the verdict as an historic landmark in the his­tory of Osun politics.

“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 bestowed it in whoever 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 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,” he said.

Adeleke sought the support of all Osun citizens and residents, irrespective of party affiliations, adding that the state belongs to all, hence the need to join hands to develop it.