The legal team representing the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State has rejected a petition purportedly filed by the party to challenge Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 governorship election.
One of the senior lawyers on the team, Adekunle Adegoke, said the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, and the party did not authorise any petition before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Adegoke, who disclosed this on Monday, explained that the legal team had advised Oyebamiji against challenging the election result after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the poll.
According to him, “the lawyers met the APC candidate and other party leaders shortly after the election to examine the available options and determine the appropriate course of action.”
He said the decision not to approach the tribunal was deliberate and was influenced by the need to reduce political tension and promote peace in Osun State.
“Right from the second day after the election, the legal team, led by about four Senior Advocates of Nigeria, advised our client that, in the circumstances, the best course of action was not to go to the tribunal,” Adegoke said.
He explained that the team, which has handled election-related matters for several years, was familiar with the grounds upon which election results could be challenged.
“The legal team has been in existence for more than seven years. Whenever we go into an election, and the results are being announced, we know where there are loopholes and what we can challenge,” he said.
Adegoke, however, stated that the decision not to challenge the election did not amount to an assertion that the poll was completely 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.
He added that Oyebamiji subsequently congratulated Governor Adeleke voluntarily after the result was announced, arguing that such a decision was inconsistent with authorising another person to file a petition in his name.
“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.
The senior lawyer further described the petition displayed at the tribunal as unauthorised, insisting that neither the APC nor its governorship candidate instructed the legal team to file it.
“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.
Another APC chieftain, Adebayo Adedamola, also distanced himself from the petition, saying he had no involvement in any legal challenge against Adeleke’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 controversy followed the display of two petitions at the Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo on Monday.
The display of the two petitions by the Osun APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, separately came despite earlier reports that no petition had been received before the constitutional 21-day filing period expired on Saturday.
The notices identified one petition as EPT/Os/Gov/01/2026, naming Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, while the other, EPT/Os/Gov/02/2026, listed the PDP as petitioner.
