Fact-Check: Has Oyetola Defeated Governor Adeleke at Appeal Court?

Fact-Check: Has Oyetola Defeated Governor Adeleke at Appeal Court?

  • A Twitter post claiming that Gboyega Oyetola has again defeated Governor Ademola Adeleke at the Court of Appeal is false
  • Though the appellate court heard the appeal filed by Governor Adeleke on Monday, March 13, it is yet to give a judgement
  • The three-member panel of justices led by Justice M.F. Shuaibu reserved its ruling, adding that the date of the judgement would be communicated to the parties involved later

FCT, Abuja - On Monday, March 13, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja began hearing the appeal filed by the governor of Osun state, Ademola Adeleke.

The matter was presided over by a three-member panel of justices led by Justice M.F. Shuaibu.

Adeleke/Oyetola/Osun 2022 Governorship Election/Court of Appeal/INEC
Gboyega Oyetola has not defeated Governor Adeleke at the Court of Appeal. Photo credits: @AAdeleke_01, @GboyegaOyetola
Source: Twitter

While Adeleke is the appellant, Gboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are 1st and 2nd respondents in the appeal.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP are also joined as 3rd respondent and 4th respondent respectively.

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Osun 2022 governorship election: Why Adeleke filed an appeal

Recall that Adeleke filed the appeal after the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in January voided his victory in the July 16, 2022, election.

INEC had declared Adeleke the winner of the election after polling a total of 403,371 votes. He was said to have won in 17 of the 30 local government areas in the state.

But the panel led by Justice Terste Kume, in its judgment, invalidated the election and declared Oyetola of APC as the valid winner of the poll.

The tribunal directed INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Adeleke and his deputy, Kola Adewusi, both of whom had been sworn in.

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It, however, directed that the Certificate of Return should instead be issued to Oyetola. Governor Adeleke subsequently proceeded to the Court of Appeal to challenge the tribunal's verdict.

Amid the hearing at the appeal court on Monday, a Twitter user, @AMTanimu, claimed that Oyetola has won.

Adeleke vs Oyetola: Has Oyetola truly won at the appeal court?

Legit.ng's findings at the time of filing this report show that Oyetola has not won at the appeal court.

No credible media platform in the country also has any report indicating that the former governor has secured victory at the appellate court.

The latest credible reports only indicate that the court has reserved judgement on the Osun state governorship appeal filed by Governor Adeleke.

What does it mean when a court reserves judgement?

In simple terms, reserving the judgement means that the court has decided it needs time to consider the facts and details of the case before drawing a verdict.

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At this stage, the court has heard the arguments of counsels from both sides of the case and is taking its time to consider information and deliberate on the verdict.

In the case of Adeleke against Oyetola, the court, after listening to their lawyers' arguments, said the date of the judgement would be communicated to the parties involved later.

To conclude, the claim by the Twitter user that Oyetola has won at the appeal court is false.

Governor Adeleke defecting to APC soon? PDP reacts to rumour

In another report, rumours of Governor Adeleke dumping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been dismissed.

The Osun state chapter of the PDP described the rumour being spread on social media as fallacious and cheap lies.

In a statement signed by its caretaker chairman, Dr Akindele, the party claimed the rumour emanated from the APC.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Nurudeen Lawal avatar

Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.