The immediate past governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, on Saturday said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be “the greatest beneficiary” of the Tribunal ruling which sacked incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, and reinstated him (Oyetola).
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that according to Oyetola, the Tribunal judgement will help INEC to “correct some of the anomalies that have been pointed out”.
Recall that the Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, on Friday sacked Adeleke, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate after it said it found proof of over-voting. It also ordered INEC to immediately withdraw the certificate of return issued to Governor Adeleke, and present it to Oyetola.
“The Tribunal judgement delivered yesterday on our petition ushers in a new dawn of a renewed hope and recovery for Osun State. I see it as a no victor and no vanquished situation for our party members, but rather a collective victory for the people of Osun and Nigeria’s democracy,” Oyetola said in a statement.
“I’m happy that the Tribunal has been able to lay to rest the controversy over the real winner of the July 16 Osun Governorship election.
“INEC would no doubt be the greatest beneficiary of this ruling, as it would help it correct some of the anomalies that have been pointed out through the ruling, a thing that was our motivation in the first instance.
“Like I have always emphasised, our decision to approach the Tribunal was not to impugn on the integrity of INEC, but to help deepen our electoral system and our democracy.”
He added: “I salute our party faithful and Osun citizens who stood firm to weather the storm for their courage and loyalty.
“With this victory, we’ve become more energised to redouble our efforts towards ensuring victory for our presidential candidate and all our National Assembly candidates including all the State House of Assembly candidates in the February and March elections respectively.
“I thank our legal team for a diligent job, just as I also thank the Tribunal for doing justice to our petition.
“I call on our party members and supporters not to react to any form of provocation from any quarter.
“Let’s continue to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding.
“Equally, I appeal to members of the PDP not to resort to self-help, instead allow the judicial process to run its full course.”
