Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke said he would appeal the judgment sacking him from office.
The Osun State Election Petition Tribunal on Friday sacked Adeleke as the state governor and declared Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of the governorship election.
The tribunal annulled the election of Adeleke, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and declared that Oyetola, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking a second term in office won the July 16 Osun governorship poll.
READ ALSO: Tribunal sacks Adeleke, declares Oyetola as winner of Osun governorship election
The tribunal deducted the over-voting observed from the votes scored by the candidates and declared that Oyetola won the election, having polled 314,921, while Adeleke’s score came down to 290,266.
Reacting to the judgement, Adeleke urged his supporters to remain calm and that he will appeal the judgement.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on our people to remain calm. We will appeal the judgement and we are sure justice will be done,” Adeleke tweeted.
READ ALSO: Aregbesola reacts as Oyetola loses Osun governorship election
“Let everyone be reassured that we will do everything possible to retain this widely acclaimed mandate. God bless Osun!”
Justice Tetsea Kume, while delivering a majority decision declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not comply substantially with the Constitution and the provisions of the Electoral Act.
He subsequently deducted the over-voting observed from the votes scored by the candidates and declared that Oyetola won the election, having polled 314, 921, while Adeleke’s score came down to 290, 266.
The judge directed INEC to withdraw Adeleke’s certificate of return and issued another one to Oyetola who won a majority of the lawful votes.
INEC on Sunday, July 17 declared PDP candidate Adeleke as the winner of the Osun State governorship election.
The PDP candidate won 17 of the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Osun State governorship election.
APC candidate Oyetola won in the remaining 13 LGAs, according to results announced by INEC on Sunday morning.
In total Oyetola of the APC polled 375,027 votes while Adeleke of the PDP claimed 403,371 votes.
Adeleke, a former senator and younger brother to the state’s first governor, Isiaka Adeleke, defeated Oyetola, by a margin of about 44,426 votes.
