OSOGBO—THE Supreme Court will today commence hearing in the appeal filed by Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, challenging the declaration of Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as governor of Osun State by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the September 22, 2018 governorship election.

Oyetola-Adeleke

The election petition tribunal had in a split decision upturned the INEC declaration and pronounced Adeleke as the winner of the election.

The matter approached the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal on May 9 upturned the verdict of the Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal, which declared Senator Adeleke winner of the governorship election.

The appellate court held that the irregular composition of the lower tribunal, where the judge who delivered the majority judgment, Justice Peter Obiorah, was absent in the proceedings of the lower court, affected the right of the appellant to fair hearing.

Both Adeleke and the PDP are asking the apex court to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal in favour of Oyetola of the APC.

Adeleke and the PDP are, therefore, seeking a declaration that they won the election by a wider margin than what was found by the lower tribunal in view of what they called the substantial non compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.