The Supreme Court has fixed Monday (today) to hear the appeal filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the September 2018 governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
The date of the hearing was contained in notices sent to parties to the suit, which also has the PDP as plaintiff, last week by the Registry of the Supreme Court.
Adeleke and the PDP are seeking the reversal of the May 9, 2019 majority judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which upheld the election of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress as the Governor of Osun State.
The ruling of the Court of Appeal came after the March 22, 2019 judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which ruled by split decision to give victory to Adeleke and the PDP.
Justices Peter Obiorah and Adegboye Gbolagunte, in the majority decision, upheld the petition, voided Oyetola’s victory and declared Adeleke of the PDP winner of the poll.
Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, who chaired the tribunal, however, gave a minority judgment that dissented and struck out the petition on the grounds that the petitioners did not prove their case.
Oyetola, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission appealed the majority judgment at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, while Adeleke and the PDP appealed the minority decision.
On May 9, 2019 the Court of Appeal gave its decisions on the appeals, with four members of the five-man panel upholding the appeals by Oyetola, APC and INEC, and dismissing the cross-appeal by Adeleke and the PDP.
The Court of Appeal’s majority judgement set aside the majority judgment of the election tribunal, upheld the result as declared by INEC and affirmed Oyetola of the APC as winner of the election.
Justices Jummai Sankey, Abubakar Yahaya, Isaiah Akeju and Bitrus Sanga gave the majority decision, while Justice George Mbaba gave the minority judgment, in which he dismissed the appeals and upheld the cross-appeal.
The appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday is that filed by Adeleke against the majority decisions of the Court of Appeal.