The former Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, has approached the Court of Appeal to further seek the disqualification of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on July 17, announced Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the July 16 Governorship election. But Oyetola and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), approached the court to challenge the victory on the grounds that there was overvoting and that Ademola Adeleke was not eligible to run at the time.
After weeks of sitting, the Tribunal agreed with Oyetola and APC that they were able to prove a case of forgery against the Osun Governor but held that it was not enough to make him ineligible since he had acquired additional qualifications.
The Tribunal however held that there was indeed over-voting and it deducted the invalid votes from the valid votes and declared Oyetola as winner of that election.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the Tribunal, INEC, Senator Ademola Adeleke and the PDP have all appealed the judgement.
In their own cross-Appeal, the APC and Oyetola through their Counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN and Akin Olujimi, SAN, noted that the Tribunal misdirected itself when it held that the certificate from Atlanta Metropolitan College and a diploma certificate from Penn Foster High School are genuine.
“Exhibits 2R.RW6 and 2R.RW9 are documents which lied against each other, as Exhibit 2R.RW9 purports that the 2nd Cross- Respondent (Ademola Adeleke) obtained a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice within 24 days of obtaining Exhibit 2R.RW6, a Diploma Certificate which purports on its surface to be an equivalent of Secondary School Certificate.
“It is in evidence before the Tribunal that Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice of the Atlanta Metropolitan College is a four-year full time course which fact the Cross-Appellants pleaded in their petition and was admitted by the 2nd Cross-Respondent; It is the law that facts admitted need no further proof and it is a presumption which only the 2nd Cross-Respondent could rebut as regards the factual impossibility of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree within 24 days of obtaining a School Certificate equivalent, thereby casting the onus of proof on him,” Oyetola’s counsel noted.
[New Telegraph]