Devastating blow: Defeated Osun Governor Oyetola’s candidature for July 16 poll nullified

Another devastating blow has hit the defeated Governor Isiaka Oyetola of Osun as a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, nullified his nomination as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the July 16, 2022 governorship poll.

Persecondnews recalls that Oyetola had lost his reelection for a second term to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sen. Ademola Adeleke.

He is currently challenging the election of Adeleke at the Osun Election Tribunal, alleging electoral fraud.

In his judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite, nullified Oyetola and his deputy governorship candidate, Benedict Alabi, on the grounds that Yobe Gov. Mai Mala Buni (the then caretaker committee national Chairman), who submitted their names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) violated the provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The PDP had filed the suit against Buni, Governor Oyetola and others.

The PDP, through its counsel, Mr Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) had on April 7 commenced the legal battle, challenging the nomination and sponsorship of Oyetola and his deputy as the duly nominated candidates of the APC for the recently concluded governorship poll, in which Sen. Ademola Adeleke was declared the winner by INEC.

Challenging the competence of the suit, Oyetola’s lawyer, Mr Kunle Adegoke (SAN), had contended, among other grounds, that the PDP did not have the locus to commence the action and that the suit was statute-barred.

But Ogunwumiju argued that the plaintiff (PDP) rightly commenced the suit under Section 285(14) (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)

Justice Nwite, however, agreed with the submissions of the PDP counsel and declared as null and void, the nomination of Oyetola and Alabi by the APC.

The court also held that Buni acted in contravention of the provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution when he held dual executive positions as the Governor of Yobe and the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of APC.

The court said that the decisions taken by Buni, including forwarding the names of Oyetola and Alabi to INEC, amounted to a nullity in law.

Persecondnews had reported that INEC declared PDP’s Adeleke, the winner of the July 16 Osun governorship poll.

The Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced that Adeleke got a total of 403,371 votes to trounce incumbent Governor Oyetola of the APC, who collected 375,027 votes.