Osun PDP Candidate Speaks on Petition Challenging Adeleke’s Victory
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2026 Osun State election, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as Fryo, has disowned a petition challenging the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Adedamola said he neither filed the petition before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal nor instructed any lawyer to institute legal proceedings against the outcome of the August 15 governorship election.
The PDP candidate made the disclosure while appearing as a guest on TVC News, describing the petition as strange and questioning how it came to be filed in his name.
“There is no petition filed by me or my counsel. I don’t know where they manufactured the petition they submitted at the tribunal,” Adedamola said.
He further disclosed that he supported Adeleke on election day, saying, “In fact, I voted for Governor Adeleke on Election Day.”
His comments have thrown the PDP’s purported legal challenge to Adeleke’s victory into fresh controversy, particularly after the tribunal displayed petitions challenging the results of the election.
A petition marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026 reportedly lists Adedamola as the petitioner, with Adeleke, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Accord Party named as respondents.
The candidate’s denial has consequently raised questions over who authorised the petition and under whose instruction the lawyers purportedly presented it before the tribunal.
Politics Nigeria understands that the development is also coming against the backdrop of a similar controversy involving the All Progressives Congress and its candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
The APC legal team had earlier disowned a petition filed in the name of the party and Oyebamiji challenging Adeleke’s victory, despite a notice of the petition being displayed at the tribunal in Osogbo.
Adekunle Adegoke, SAN, one of the leaders of the APC legal team, said the party’s lawyers had advised Oyebamiji against challenging the election in court after reviewing the results and alleged irregularities recorded during the poll.
According to Adegoke, the legal team identified grounds that could have formed the basis of an election petition but opted against litigation in the interest of peace and political stability in Osun.
“We advised our client that the best in this circumstance is for us not to go to the tribunal,” he said.
Adegoke maintained that the decision was not an admission that the election was flawless, noting that the legal team believed there were grounds capable of challenging the result.
He said Oyebamiji accepted the advice and subsequently congratulated Adeleke after consultations.
The senior lawyer therefore rejected the petition attributed to the APC candidate, accusing individuals behind it of presenting themselves as members of the party’s legal team without authorisation.
“I want to be on record that the APC legal team has denounced the bundle of papers filed by some individuals masquerading as APC lawyers. It was not authorised by APC as a party or its candidate,” Adegoke said.
INEC had declared Adeleke winner of the August 15 election after he secured victory in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas. Oyebamiji, his closest challenger, won in the remaining 11 local government areas.
