The All Progressives Congress legal team in Osun State and Adebayo Adedamola, the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the August 15 election, have disowned petitions challenging the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Their denials followed the display on Monday, September 7, of two separate petitions on the notice board of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo. The first petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, lists Bola Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, Accord and the Independent National Electoral Commission as respondents.
The second petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, lists Adedamola as the petitioner, while INEC, Accord and Adeleke are named as respondents. Pefe Belemore, secretary of the tribunal, confirmed that petitions challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship election had been filed.
However, the APC legal team said it did not authorise any petition challenging Adeleke’s victory, while Adedamola said neither he nor his lawyer had filed a case against the governor. Adekunle Adegoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and one of the leaders of the APC legal team, said the lawyers advised Oyebamiji against approaching the tribunal after the election. JoinDiaspora Networks
“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 team advised Oyebamiji that “the best in this circumstance is for us not to go to the tribunal.”
According to Adegoke, the legal team met Oyebamiji and other APC leaders after the results were announced and concluded that litigation would not be in the best interest of Osun 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 said the lawyers were aware of what he described as “valid grounds” for challenging the election result but decided that the people of the state should be allowed to “rest.” He added that Oyebamiji’s subsequent decision to congratulate Adeleke was consistent with the legal team’s position.
“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. Adegoke questioned how Oyebamiji could have authorised a petition after publicly accepting the outcome 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?” he asked.
He described the petition displayed at the tribunal as having been 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,” Adegoke said.
Adedamola also denied authorising or filing any petition challenging Adeleke’s victory. Speaking to TVC on Monday, September 7, the PDP candidate said neither his lawyer nor any PDP leader had informed him of a decision to contest the election result.
“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 backed the governor before the election and voted for him.
He recalled that the PDP held a press conference on August 13 declaring 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?”
Adeleke, who contested on the platform of Accord, was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election after polling 511,067 votes.