Former Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has decried the judgement of the Osun State Governorship Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of Governor Gboyega Oyetola and declared Senator Ademola Adeleke as winner of the September 2018 gubernatorial election in the state.
The ex-governor’s spokesman, Mr. Sola Fasure, made this known in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to Aregbesola, the majority decision of the tribunal which nullified the election was unknown to law and against good conscience.
He said that the tribunal appeared to have punished Oyetola and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for errors committed by staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The ex-governor said that despite the judgement, he would continue to exhibit the highest regards for the judiciary, just as he expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would upturn the tribunal’s decision.
The statement read, “We have highest regards for the judiciary and we will continue to have high regards for the revered institution. However, we regret to note that the decision in the majority judgement, as can be seen from our subsequent observations, is strange to law and common sense.
“It certainly does not support the cause of electoral justice and may constitute the death knell for properly conducted elections. Therefore, with all sense of responsibility, we reject the majority judgment and believed that it will not stand scrutiny at the appellate court.
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“Two of the three judges on the panel in the majority judgment nullified elections in 17 polling units, and proceeded to calculate election results on their own to declare Senator Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the elections conducted in September 2018. The two judges also canceled the supplementary election held on September 27, 2018 and awarded victory to the PDP candidate.
“There was no evidence of any act known to render election null and void in an election petition such as over voting, non-accreditation, ballot box stuffing etc. This much was highlighted in the dissenting judgment of the Chairman of the Tribunal in disagreeing with the majority decision.
“It is general knowledge in that elections are not nullified based on non-compliance alone. A petitioner, who alleges non-compliance with the provisions of this Electoral Act, must clearly establish by evidence that the non-compliance has affected the result of the election. The petitioner must not only show substantial non-compliance but also the figures that the non-compliance attracted or omitted.
“Therefore, the most relevant question one would pose here is: should the tribunal allow APC to suffer as a result of the mistakes or omissions occasioned by the INEC staff? Certainly, no. It is rather shocking to good conscience that APC will be penalized for the error or mistake of INEC and its staff in this regard, even when there is evidence of validly conducted and concluded elections in the 17 polling units, especially where no miscarriage of justice has been shown to have been occasioned.
“It is in view of the foregoing that we are going to vigorously pursue appeal against the judgement. We have the firm confidence that it will be upturned.