The Osun governorship election petition tribunal has received no petition challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship poll during the 21-day window stipulated by the constitution.
The 21-day window for filing a petition to protest the poll result expired on Saturday, and none of the 14 defeated parties challenged the outcome.
The incumbent Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, who contested the poll on the platform of the Accord, was declared elected by the State Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, in the August 15 governorship poll.
Adeleke won the governorship election with a total of 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 444,815 votes.
Shortly after the poll results were revealed, the office of the Election Petition Tribunal, which will hear election-related cases, opened on the grounds of the State High Court in Oke Fia, Osogbo, Osun State.
During a visit to the tribunal office by the newsmen on Saturday, the last day for submitting petitions regarding the outcome of the election, its register was opened for business.
However, a staff member who replied to inquiries informed our reporters that no petition had been received.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the Osun APC to the development were futile, as calls to the party’s spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, rang out, while a response to a message sent to him via WhatsApp seeking to know the party’s position on the opposition parties’ refusal to challenge Adeleke’s victory was still pending as of the time of filing this report on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mr. Victor Akande, Chairman of the Osun Accord, stated in a telephone interview on Sunday that the opposition candidates demonstrated political maturity by refusing to dispute Adeleke’s victory in the poll.
“We appreciate the maturity of the candidates of the opposition for not challenging the outcome of the poll. That itself is good for democracy if an election stops at the poll. The idea of going to court to regain a mandate is sometimes not good for democracy,” Akande said.
Also speaking, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Olugbenga Ajala, during a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday, said the election and the processes leading to it were considered fair enough.
Ajala said, “The election came, and it’s gone. Fair enough; we have to be content with the outcome of the poll because we believe the best candidate won, and we also believe that the president is fair enough.
“If the election had not been fair enough, we would have headed for the Tribunal, but we give thanks to God that the process can be seen by all to be very fair. That is why no party or candidate is coming forward for any petition.”
