Fresh controversy has erupted at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal after the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) denied authorising petitions purportedly filed to challenge Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 governorship election.
The controversy followed the display of two election petitions at the tribunal secretariat in Osogbo on Monday.
One of the petitions, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, listed APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) named as respondents.
However, members of the APC legal team swiftly disowned the petition, insisting that neither Oyebamiji nor the party’s leadership authorised its filing.
APC lawyer, Muideen Adeoye, said the party’s legal team had agreed with the leadership not to challenge the election result at the tribunal.
“I am telling you authoritatively that we did not file any petition, either for the candidate or the party,” Adeoye said.
He added that while the petition might have originated from individuals within the party, it was filed without the approval of the APC 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.
“I am also aware that notice of petition was pasted at the tribunal today. That is strange, and I repeat, we did not file the said petition.”
Another senior member of the APC legal team, Abiodun Layonu (SAN), also rejected the petition in a separate statement.
In a statement titled “Re: APC Challenge Gubernatorial Election at Tribunal,” Layonu said the candidate, the party and its lawyers were shocked to discover documents purporting to have been filed on their behalf.
He said neither Oyebamiji nor the APC authorised the filing of the petition, describing the documents as unauthorised.
The lawyer consequently urged APC members, supporters and the general public to disregard the petition, insisting that it did not originate from the party’s recognised legal representatives.
PDP Candidate Also Disowns Petition
The confusion deepened after another purported petition was linked to Adebayo Adedamola, popularly known as Fryo.
The petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, reportedly listed Adedamola as the petitioner against Adeleke, INEC and Accord.
But Adedamola, who emerged as the PDP’s governorship candidate before the election, has also denied authorising any legal challenge against Adeleke.
Speaking on TVC News, Adedamola said he was unaware of the petition and urged the public to disregard it.
“I don’t know where they manufacture the petition they submitted at the tribunal to challenge the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke. I have not been briefed by anybody. I want people to disregard it,” he said.
According to him, he had publicly endorsed Adeleke ahead of the election and even voted for the governor.
“I am not filing any petition against Governor Ademola Adeleke. Before the election, I already endorsed Governor Ademola Adeleke as our candidate during a press conference on August 13. I even voted for Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party,” he added.
The development is particularly unusual because the PDP was not listed among the political parties that participated in the August 15 election by INEC.
Accord Unfazed
Despite the controversy, Accord officials said they were not concerned about the emergence of the petitions.
Osun Accord chairman, Victor Akande, said any candidate or political party dissatisfied with an election had the constitutional right to seek legal redress.
He, however, maintained that the election should ideally be settled at the ballot box rather than in court.
“It is better to approach the tribunal than taking laws into their hands by disrupting peace and other things,” Akande said.