Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has vehemently denied authorising any legal challenge against the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke, throwing the state's election petition tribunal into confusion after a petition purportedly filed by the party and its candidate was publicly displayed at the tribunal secretariat in Osogbo on Monday, September 7, 2026. The petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, listed the APC governorship candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, and the party as petitioners against Governor Adeleke, the Accord Party, and the Independent National Electoral Commission. A second petition, numbered EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was also displayed in the name of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, against the same respondents.
The tribunal secretary, Pefe Belemore, confirmed that the petitions had been received and formally displayed, a procedural step that paves the way for the service of court processes on the respondents before substantive proceedings begin. However, within hours of the display, the APC legal team moved swiftly to disown the petition, insisting that neither the party nor its candidate authorised its filing. Barrister Muideen Adeoye, a member of the APC legal team, told journalists that the party had taken a deliberate decision not to challenge the election outcome at the tribunal. "I am telling you authoritatively that we did not file any petition, either for the candidate or the party," Adeoye said. "The said petition may have emanated from some persons within the party, but it is without the permission of the leadership. As I am speaking with you, the legal team, in conjunction with the party hierarchy, agreed not to file any petition and we did not file any."
Another senior member of the APC legal team, Dr Abiodun Layonu, SAN, also issued a statement denouncing the petition, describing it as shocking and unauthorised. "The attention of the All Progressives Congress legal team has been drawn to a bundle of papers purportedly referred to as Election Petition purportedly filed on behalf of Bola Oyebamiji and APC," the statement read. "Our clients and the entire legal team were shocked to read the purported petition, as neither the candidate nor the party authorised the filing of same. We hereby denounce in absolute terms the purported petition filed in the name of APC and its gubernatorial candidate."
Adekunle Adegoke, SAN, another leader of the APC legal team, explained that the decision not to approach the tribunal was reached after extensive consultations among the legal team, Oyebamiji, and other party leaders following the announcement of the election results. According to Adegoke, the lawyers identified valid grounds that could have formed the basis of an election petition but deliberately opted for restraint, arguing that further litigation could aggravate political tension in the state. "Right from the second day of the election, at the level of the legal team being led by about 4 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, we advised our client that the best in this circumstance is for us not to go to the tribunal," Adegoke said. "We don't have anything personal against Nurudeen Adeleke the governor, or any other person in another party, whether PDP or Accord. We are principled, and when we decided that we are not going to the Tribunal, we needed to let our client understand why we had taken that decision."
Adegoke stressed that the decision was consistent with Oyebamiji's subsequent congratulatory message to Adeleke, arguing that it would be inconsistent for the APC candidate to personally accept the result and later authorise a petition against the same outcome. "Right from the second day, 16th of August, when the result of the election was announced, that is why we allowed time to play out a little before our client came out and congratulated the Governor," Adegoke said. He questioned how Oyebamiji could have authorised a petition after voluntarily accepting and congratulating Adeleke, describing the petition displayed at the tribunal as a document filed by individuals "masquerading as APC lawyers."
The confusion over the APC petition adds to the uncertainty surrounding the legal challenges to Governor Adeleke's re-election. The PDP candidate, Fryo, had earlier disowned the petition filed in his name, insisting that he voted for Adeleke and did not authorise any legal action against him. The Accord Party, whose platform Adeleke used to secure his re-election, has also dismissed the petitions, describing them as the right of the parties but expressing confidence in the governor's victory. Governor Adeleke was declared winner of the August 15 election after securing 511,067 votes, defeating Oyebamiji who polled 444,815 votes.
With both the APC and the PDP candidates disowning the petitions filed in their names, the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal now faces a peculiar situation where the very individuals whose names appear on the petitions have publicly distanced themselves from the legal challenges. The question now is: who actually filed these petitions, and what happens to the tribunal proceedings when both petitioners deny authorising the cases? As the legal battle over the Osun governorship election takes this unexpected twist, attention will now turn to the tribunal and the parties named in the disputed petition for clarification on its authorship, authorisation and legal status.
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