The legal team of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State has distanced itself from a petition purportedly filed by the party to challenge the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 15 governorship election.
A member of the legal team and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adekunle Adegoke, said the APC and its candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, did not authorise the petition reportedly filed before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Speaking in an interview, Adegoke said the legal team advised Oyebamiji against challenging the election result after reviewing the conduct and outcome of the poll.
He said the decision was largely aimed at reducing tension and promoting peace in the state.
“We advised our client that the best in this circumstance is for us not to go to the tribunal.”
Adegoke explained that although the legal team identified grounds that could have formed the basis of an election petition, it chose not to pursue litigation.
He said, “It’s not like maybe the election was free; it doesn’t mean there were no malpractices. There are valid grounds to challenge the result of the election, and we decided to let the populace rest.”
According to him, Oyebamiji accepted the advice and subsequently congratulated Adeleke after the election.
Adegoke questioned how the APC candidate could have authorised a petition after voluntarily accepting the outcome and congratulating the governor.
He said, “Our client, having willingly, without pressure, without duress, congratulated Governor Adeleke, do you now think it will be legitimate as a man of honour for Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji to go behind and authorise the filing of a petition?”
The SAN further described the petition as unauthorised, saying it did not originate from the APC legal team.
He added, “The APC legal team has denounced the bundle of papers filed by some individuals masquerading as APC lawyers. It was not authorised by APC as a party or its candidate.”
The development followed the display of notices of two petitions at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.
One of the petitions, numbered EPT/Os/Gov/01/2026, listed Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission as respondents.
Another petition, EPT/Os/Gov/02/2026, was filed in the name of the Peoples Democratic Party, with INEC, the Accord Party and Adeleke listed as respondents.
The notices were signed by the tribunal secretary, Belemo Diete-Spiff.
However, the APC legal team has maintained that the petition purportedly filed in the party’s name was not authorised by either the party or its governorship candidate.
