Gboyega Oyetola, the former governor of Osun state, says the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the greatest beneficiary of
the tribunal ruling which restored his mandate.
The tribunal on Friday sacked Ademola Adeleke, candidate of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the governorship poll held on July 16,
2022.
In August 2022, Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress
(APC) petitioned the tribunal to challenge the victory of Adeleke in the
election.
Among several issues, Oyetola contended that there was
overvoting in 749 polling units across 10 LGAs of the state.
Delivering judgment, two out of the three-member panel of
the tribunal held that the petitioner was able to prove that there was indeed
over-voting in some of the polling units.
Consequently, the majority judgment of the tribunal ordered
INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and issue a fresh
one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun.
‘NO VICTOR, NO
VANQUISHED’
Speaking with journalists in his country home in the
Iragbiji area of Osun, Oyetola said there was no victor, no vanquished.
“There is no victor, no vanquished. It is a collective
victory for our state and our nation’s democracy,” he said.
“I am happy that the judgment had resolved the controversy
of July 16th 2022 governorship election.
“INEC is the greatest beneficiary of the judgment. It will
afford them the opportunity to look at all the anomalies and make necessary
adjustments to prevent such mistakes now that the general elections are coming.
“I thank the people of the state and supporters for standing
by us, for their courage and loyalty. I want to assure them that we are ready
to continue to serve them.”
Adeleke has vowed to appeal the judgment, describing it as a
miscarriage of justice.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com