The Appeal Court sitting in Akure has on Monday, March 13, 2023, said it would reserved judgement on the Osun State Governorship Appeal which was filled by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Following the judgement of the Osun State Governorship Tribunal which had nullified his election, Adeleke had on February 9th, appealed the said decision.
Recall the tribunal had ruled in favour of the state’s former governor, Gboyega Oyetola. While delivering February judgement, two out of the three-member of the tribunal panel held that Oyetola was able to proved that there was over-voting in some of the polling units.
In a swift reaction, Adeleke had rejected the ruling and described it as a “miscarriage of justice”.
The governor filed an appeal before the Akure division of the Court of Appeal a week after.
In the 31 grounds of appeal filed on Wednesday, Adeleke is praying the court for “an order setting aside the whole decision of the tribunal”.
The governor is equally seeking “an order striking out the petition for want of competence and jurisdiction or in the alternative, an order dismissing the petition on the merit”.
“The second respondent cannot ‘go lo lo lo lo’ and ‘buga won’ as the duly elected governor of Osun state,” the governor said.
“The tribunal, in its judgment, erred in law and displayed bias against the appellant when it made reference to the appellant’s dance at his inauguration as governor of Osun state which was never an issue before the lower tribunal,” Adeleke noted.
“By referring to the appellant’s personal eccentricity for dancing, the lower tribunal derided and mocked him in a manner suggesting that it was biased against him.
“The appearance of bias manifests in the reference to the Appellant’s proclivity for dancing and particularly the Buga song, has rendered the decision of the lower Tribunal a nullity.
“The tribunal in its judgment erred in law in returning the 1st respondent as the duly elected candidate without due regard to the enormity of the voters in the units where the results were cancelled for overvoting.”
