The legal team of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has disowned a petition reportedly filed in the party’s name challenging the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 15 governorship election.
Speaking with PUNCH Online on Monday, one of the leaders of the APC legal team, Adekunle Adegoke (SAN), said neither the party nor its governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, authorised any petition before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
Adegoke said the APC’s legal team had, after reviewing the outcome of the election and consulting with Oyebamiji and other party leaders, advised against challenging the result in court.
According to him, the decision was taken to reduce political tension and allow peace to prevail in Osun State.
He said the legal team, which includes several Senior Advocates of Nigeria and other legal experts, was capable of identifying grounds for an election petition but deliberately chose not to approach the tribunal.
Adegoke maintained that while the election may not have been entirely free of alleged irregularities, the party decided that pursuing a legal battle was not in the overall interest of peace in the state.
He also pointed to Oyebamiji’s decision to publicly congratulate Adeleke, insisting that it would be inconsistent for the candidate to subsequently authorise a petition challenging the same election.
The senior lawyer described the purported petition as unauthorised and alleged that individuals were “masquerading as APC lawyers” by filing documents without the approval of either the party or its candidate.
His comments came after notices displayed at the tribunal secretariat in Osogbo showed two petitions challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship election.
One of the petitions, numbered EPT/Os/Gov/01/2026, reportedly listed Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, while Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission were named as respondents.
The second petition, EPT/Os/Gov/02/2026, was reportedly filed in the name of the Peoples Democratic Party, despite the party not fielding a candidate in the election.
The development has now raised fresh questions over the authenticity and authorisation of the petitions displayed at the tribunal.
