THE All Progressives Congress (APC) legal team in Osun State and Adebayo Adedamola, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the August 15 election, have disowned petitions purportedly challenging the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The denials followed the display of separate petitions purportedly filed by the APC and PDP on the notice board of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo on Monday. News Point Nigeria reports that the development has created confusion over the actual origin and authorisation of the petitions, with the tribunal confirming that petitions challenging the election outcome had been filed.
Pefe Belemore, the tribunal secretary, confirmed that petitions challenging the outcome of the August 15 election had been filed. The first petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, lists Bola Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, while Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are respondents. The second petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, lists Adedamola as the petitioner, with INEC, Accord and Adeleke as respondents.
However, the APC legal team said it did not authorise any petition challenging Adeleke’s victory, while Adedamola also said neither he nor his counsel had filed a petition against the governor.
Adekunle Adegoke, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), one of the leaders of the APC legal team, told PUNCH on Monday that the lawyers advised Oyebamiji, the party’s candidate, against approaching the tribunal after the election.
He said the legal team met Oyebamiji and other party leaders after the results were announced and agreed that pursuing litigation would not be in the best interest of the state.
“Right from the second day of the election, at the level of the legal team being led by about four senior advocates of Nigeria, Dr Biodun Layoonu (SAN), Dr Yomi Aliyu (SAN), myself, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) and Dr Muritala Abdulrasheed (SAN),” Adegoke was quoted as saying.
He said the lawyers advised Oyebamiji that “the best in this circumstance is for us not to go to the tribunal”.
According to Adegoke, the decision was motivated by a desire to reduce tension and allow peace to prevail in Osun.
“We don’t have anything personal against Nurudeen Adeleke, the governor, or any other person in another party, whether PDP or Accord,” he said.
He said the team was aware of “valid grounds” to challenge the result but decided to allow the people of the state to “rest”.
Adegoke said Oyebamiji’s decision to congratulate Adeleke after the election was consistent with the legal team’s advice.
“Right from the second day, 16th of August, when the result of the election was announced, that is why we allowed time to play out a little before our client came out and congratulated the Governor, Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke,” he said.
He questioned how Oyebamiji could have authorised a petition after voluntarily accepting and congratulating Adeleke.
“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?” Adegoke asked.
He described the petition displayed at the tribunal as a document filed by individuals “masquerading as APC lawyers”.
“I want to be on record that 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,” he said.
Adedamola, the PDP governorship candidate, also denied authorising or filing any petition challenging Adeleke’s victory.
Speaking to TVC on Monday, Adedamola said he had not been informed by his lawyer or any PDP leader of a decision to challenge the election.
“There’s no petition filed by me or my counsel. So, I don’t know where they manufactured the petition they submitted at the tribunal,” he said.
Adedamola said he had no reason to challenge Adeleke because he had publicly supported the governor before the election and voted for him.
He recalled that the PDP had held a press conference on August 13 where it declared support for Adeleke.
“There has never been any meeting where a decision has been reached to challenge the decision of the court,” he said.
“I even voted for Governor Adeleke of the Accord party. Why would I now change today and be filing any petition against him?”
The conflicting claims have left questions over the origin and authority of the petitions displayed at the tribunal, particularly the one attributed to Oyebamiji and the APC. While the tribunal notice identifies the APC candidate and the party as petitioners, the APC legal team insists that neither the party nor its candidate authorised the filing.
Adeleke, the Accord candidate, was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election after securing 511,067 votes, returning him as governor of Osun State.