The Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has displayed two petitions challenging the August 15 re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke, even as senior lawyers associated with the All Progressives Congress say they did not authorize the petition filed in the party’s name.
Tribunal Secretary Pefe Belemore confirmed that petitions had been received and displayed at the tribunal secretariat in Osogbo.
One petition, EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, was filed in the names of APC candidate Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji against Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
A second petition, EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was filed by Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola against Adeleke, INEC and Accord.
The display ordinarily begins the formal process of service and subsequent tribunal proceedings.
However, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Adekunle Adegoke, a member of the APC legal team, said the lawyers who advised Oyebamiji had decided after reviewing the election not to challenge the result.
Adegoke said the decision was taken after consultation and was intended to reduce tension in the state.
He said Oyebamiji had subsequently congratulated Adeleke and argued that a later petition purporting to come from the APC candidate was not authorized by the established legal team.
The contradiction raises an immediate question over the origin and authority of the petition displayed in the APC candidate’s name.
The tribunal will have to determine the legal status of the filings, the proper parties before it and any substantive claims that survive preliminary objections.
Until then, the existence of a displayed petition should not be treated as proof that the recognized APC leadership or Oyebamiji personally authorized the challenge.
