We can’t react to Osun tribunal verdict – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that commenting on the ruling of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo, which nullified Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the governorship elections held on July 16, 2022, would be counterproductive.

According to NewsXtra, Adegboyega Oyetola, a candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), had challenged Adeleke, a candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claiming that the latter had won due to overvoting and certificate fraud.

The tribunal acknowledged that APC’s claim of overvoting was incomplete. Still, it found evidence of overvoting in the guber election held on July 16.

The tribunal concluded that “after deducting invalid votes due to overvoting, Adegboyega Oyetola scored 314, 931 while Governor Ademola Adeleke scored 290, 666.”

In addition, the court ruled that Adeleke met the educational requirements to run for governor of Osun.

Barr. Festus Okoye, national commissioner and chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, said the court process must be allowed to take its full course when approached yesterday for a reaction to the verdict.

Overvoting during elections and the ease with which politicians may compromise Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) equipment were the subjects of inquiries.

In an interview, Okoye stated, “The judicial process must run its full course.

“The governorship election tribunal is the court of first instance in election petition proceedings. The aggrieved party in this instance has signalled a wish to appeal against the ruling. It will be harmful to prejudge the outcome of the appeal.”

Further, he said it was wisest to wait for the outcome of the appeal.