Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, who was the APC guber candidate in the Governorship election held in Osun state on July 16 2022, has filed a cross -appeal and he has sought to further seek the disqualification of Governor Ademola Adeleke , who was the PDP guber candidate in the said election .
It will be recalled that while the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) had announced Governor Ademola Adeleke as winner of the election, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola had however filed a petition against his declaration as winner of the guber election.
The Osun state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal headed by Justice Tetse Kume had in a split decision of two to one a few days ago, ordered the electoral umpire; the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Adeleke and issue a fresh one to Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the Tribunal, INEC, Governor Ademola Adeleke and the PDP had appealed the judgment. The Independent National Electoral Commission had in appealing the judgment listed 44 grounds to support this.
In the cross-appeal filed by the APC and Oyetola through their Counsels; Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN and Akin Olujimi, SAN, they noted that the Tribunal misdirected itself when it held that the certificate from Atlanta Metropolitan College and a diploma certificate from Penn Foster High School are genuine.
‘Exhibits 2R.RW6 and 2R.RW9 are documents which lied against each other, as Exhibit 2R.RW9 purports that the 2nd Cross- Respondent (Ademola Adeleke) obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice within 24 days of obtaining Exhibit 2R.RW6, a Diploma Certificate which purports on its surface to be an equivalent of Secondary School Certificate.
It is in evidence before the Tribunal that a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice of the Atlanta Metropolitan College is a four-year full time course which fact the Cross-Appellants pleaded in their petition and was admitted by the 2nd Cross-Respondent; It is the law that facts admitted need no further proof and it is a presumption which only the 2nd Cross-Respondent could rebut as regard the factual impossibility of obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree within 24 days of obtaining a School Certificate equivalent, thereby casting the onus of proof on him’ Oyetola’s counsels noted.
‘Having found that forgery was proved by the petitioners against the 2nd cross/respondent with regard to his Exhibits EC9 and FILE D, the tribunal ought to have held pursuant to Section 182(1)(1) that the 2nd respondent was disqualified from contesting the Osun State Governorship election of July 16, 2022.
Once forgery of a document is established against a candidate in an election, it voids his candidacy and the forgery cannot be redeemed or cancelled out by any other document the candidate may have presented alongside the forged document.
The holding of the Tribunal that the 2nd Cross-Respondent (Ademola Adeleke) was nonetheless qualified to contest the election is inconsistent and in conflict with the clear provision of Section 182(1)(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The holding of the Tribunal runs contrary to Section 182(1)(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). The decision of the Tribunal on the qualification of the 2nd Respondent
was made per incuriam Section 182(1)(1) of the Constitution and hence is erroneous and perverse’ Oyetola’s legal team added.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned Oyetola’s lawyers in the cross –appeal, asked the Appeal Court to set aside the decision of the Tribunal which specifically noted that Ademola Adeleke was qualified to run for governor, the legal team added that this was done despite the fact that a forgery case had been established against him- Team@orientactualmags.com
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