Obasanjo Breaks Silence On Adeleke’s Victory At Tribunal

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has just commended the judgement of the Osun state election tribunal in favor of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Senator Ademola Adeleke, declaring him as the legitimate winner of the state gubernatorial election held in September 2018.

Independent National Electoral Commission had earlier declared and issued a certificate of return to All Progressive’s Congress’s Gboyega Oyetola as the elected governor, however Adeleke challenge the outcome.

On Friday, the tribunal stated in its judgement that the second leg of the election which earned APC the victory in the southwest state was illegal and gave credence to the first leg that Adeleke won with no dispute.

In a statement written by the ex-president from Dubai, where he is in attendance at the Global Education and Skills Forum meeting, he gave credit to tribunal for changing the narrative that would have been a national embarrassment for the country by declaring Adeleke the genuine winner.

“While I was in Dubai, I received the news of the judgment of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal declaring Senator Ademola Adeleke, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the winner of the 2018 Governorship election in the state.

“Let me take this opportunity to commend the tribunal for its courage in nullifying what was clearly an illegality. This action by the judicial officers, albeit a first step in the legal process, gives renewed confidence in the judiciary at a time when there are coordinated efforts by some political leaders to undermine, if not destroy, it.

“As I have repeatedly said, the world is watching events in Nigeria with keen interest. What we do or do not do right in our electoral process will have implications not just for Nigeria but for Africa and indeed the world. By correcting what was clearly a desperate attempt to change the will of the Osun people, the tribunal has saved Nigeria from great embarrassment and started the process of saving and strengthening our democracy”, he mentioned.

Obasanjo also applauded Adeleke for good mind to present his case in court.

“Let me also commend Sen. Adeleke for his statesmanship in going to court to seek justice. This is the right and proper thing to do in any decent society. Going to court must be encouraged and not discouraged as some people are now attempting to do”, he added.

Meanwhile, the sitting governor of Osun state, Gboyega Oyetola has rejected the ruling of the tribunal and has immediately filed case for appeal judgement.