The All Progressives Congress (APC) legal team in Osun State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the August 15 election, Adebayo Adedamola, have denied authorising petitions challenging the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The controversy erupted after two separate petitions were posted on the notice board of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo on Monday.
One of the petitions, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, listed APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, Accord and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) named as respondents.
The second petition, numbered EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, listed Adedamola as the petitioner and INEC, Accord and Adeleke as respondents.
The tribunal secretary, Pefe Belemore, confirmed that petitions challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship election had been filed.
However, the APC legal team subsequently rejected any involvement in the petition attributed to the party and its candidate.
Adekunle Adegoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and member of the APC legal team, said the lawyers had advised Oyebamiji against challenging the election result at the tribunal.
Adegoke said the legal team, comprising several senior advocates, met with Oyebamiji and other party leaders after the election and concluded that litigation would not serve the best interests 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 him, the decision was driven by the need to ease political tension and allow peace to prevail in the state.
“We don’t have anything personal against Nurudeen Adeleke, the governor, or any other person in another party, whether PDP or Accord,” he said.
Adegoke acknowledged that the legal team believed there were “valid grounds” upon which the election could have been challenged, but said the decision was ultimately taken to allow the people of Osun to “rest”.
He added that Oyebamiji’s decision to congratulate Adeleke after the election reflected the position reached by the legal team.
The lawyer, however, clarified that the decision not to challenge the result did not mean the APC considered the election entirely free of irregularities.
“It is not that the election was entirely free or that there were no malpractices. There may have been valid grounds to challenge the result, but we decided to allow the populace to rest,” he said.
Adegoke also questioned how Oyebamiji could have authorised another petition after voluntarily congratulating Adeleke.
“Our client willingly, without pressure or duress, congratulated Governor Adeleke. Do you now think it would be legitimate, or honourable, for Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji to turn around and authorise the filing of a petition?” Adegoke asked.
He described the petition displayed at the tribunal as unauthorised and said neither the APC nor its governorship candidate instructed the party’s legal team to commence proceedings.
“I want it 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 the APC as a party or by its candidate,” he said.
Adedamola also denied any involvement in a petition challenging Adeleke’s victory, saying he had already accepted the governor’s victory.
“I am not involved in any petition before the Election Petition Tribunal. I already endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke as our candidate. So, there is no cause for us to now go and file any petition against the governor,” Adedamola said.
The development came amid conflicting reports over whether any petitions had been filed before the expiration of the constitutionally prescribed 21-day period on Saturday.
The two petitions subsequently displayed at the tribunal indicated that challenges had been lodged, despite earlier reports that no petition had been received before the filing deadline.
The circumstances surrounding the petitions, including who filed or authorised them, remained the subject of the controversy as the APC legal team and Adedamola publicly disowned the proceedings.
