OSUN State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has rejected the judgment of the state governorship election petition tribunal that ordered his removal from office.
The ICIR had reported that Adeleke was sacked in a split judgment delivered by the tribunal in Osogbo, Osun State capital, on Friday, January 27.
The tribunal ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Adeleke and issue the same to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor Gboyega Oyetola.
The majority judgment which was read by the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tertse Kume, said Oyetola scored the majority lawful votes of 314,931 against Adeleke’s 219,666.
Reacting to the development, Adeleke in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, described the judgment as “a miscarriage of justice”.
He faulted the resolution of the over-voting question in favour of Oyetola, calling it “an unfair interpretation against the will of majority of voters”.
While urging his supporters to remain calm, Adeleke vowed to appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal, insisting he remained the rightful winner of the July 16 election.
“I call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done. Let our people be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate,” he said.
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