The Nigerian Apex court has therefore fixed July 5th as the judgement date.
Senator Ademola Adeleke, the PDP governorship candidate in the September 22, 2018 Osun State governorship election approached the highest court of the land against the judgement of the Appeal court which upturned the Tribunal verdict that declared him winner of the keenly contested Governorship poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Oyetola Gboyega of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner and duly elected governor of the state in the September election.
However, Osun State Election Petition Tribunal on March 22, 2019 in a two-one split decision nullified the victory of APC, and declared PDP and its candidate winner of the keenly contested election.
Dissatisfied with the Tribunal Ruling, the Osun State Governor approached the Court of Appeal who on May 9, 2019 nullified the Tribunal verdict and declared Mr Oyetola winner of the election.
Similarly, the PDP and its party filed notices at the Supreme Court through their lawyers, Dr Paul Ananaba, SAN and Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, praying the Court to nullify the appellate’s Court ruling, and upheld the verdict of the Tribunal.
PDP and its candidate in the said election, Ademola Adeleke, had filed four separate appeals before the apex court to challenge the Abuja Division Court of Appeal’s decision affirming the All Progressives Congress and its Governor Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner of the poll.
A seven-man panel of the apex court led by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, has already heard one of the appeals on Monday.
The decision in the particular appeal filed by Adeleke is to be binding on two other appeals, while the fourth appeal will be heard and a judgement delivered on it separately.
The seven man-panel rose after hearing the first appeal on Monday.
The panel is to return shortly to conclude the hearing on the remaining appeals.
Other members of the panel led by Justice Muhammad are Justices Kumai Akaahs, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Amiru Sanusi, Paul Galinje and Uwani Abba-Aji.
At the proceedings, the appellants’ lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), urged the apex court to uphold his clients’ appeal, upturn the judgement of the Court of Appeal and affirm that of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had upturned Oyetola’s election and declared Adeleke as the true winner of the poll.
But Oyetola’s lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN), and that for the APC, Olumide Olujinmi, also urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal.
The appellants are by their appeal challenging the May 9, 2019 majority judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal which affirmed Oyetola’s victory at the September 2018 poll.
Dissatisfied with INEC’s declaration of Oyetola as the winner of the September 2018 governorship election, Adeleke and the PDP had filed a petition praying for an order nullifying the election and declaring them as the winner.
Both PDP and Adeleke appealed to the Supreme Court against the majority decision of the Court of Appeal.
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