Judgment: Wild jubilation in Adeleke’s home town

There was wild jubilation in Ede, Osun State, the home town of Ademola Adeleke on Friday, following the tribunal judgement which upheld his election.

The tribunal which sat in Abuja had declared Mr Adeleke winner of the September 2018 governorship election in Osun.

Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who was in the town, reports that supporters of the Peoples Democratuc Party (PDP) as well people of Ede were seen dancing and singing victory song.

At the country home of Mr Adeleke, who is currently a senator, large crowds were seen within and outside his premises singing and dancing.

Okada riders, in their large numbers, were also seen using their motorcycles to display different skills to celebrate the victory.

Speaking on the victory, Dupe Adeleke-Sanni, Adeleke’s elder sister, commended the judiciary for retrieving the “stolen mandate.”

Mrs Adeleke-Sanni, who said she dedicated the victory to God and his late brother Sen. Isiaka Adeleke, said the victory was well-deserved.

“We thank God for returning our stolen mandate.

“It is not by our might or power but by the grace of God that we have the mandate back,” she said.

She, however, commended the people of Ede for standing with the family during the trying period, urging them to continue to stand with them.

NAN reports that the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja had on Friday declared Mr Adeleke winner.

The three-member panel said during its ruling that the re-run election that held on September 27, 2018, was illegal.

The tribunal, therefore, deducted the votes scored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, in the re-run after declaring it illegal.

The tribunal said Mr Adeleke won the election at the first ballot on September 22 and the re-run that INEC devised to reach a conclusion a week later was illegal.

“The declaration of Oyetola is null and void,” the tribunal ruled in a majority decision of two with one member dissenting.

(NAN)