No political party or candidate has filed a petition challenging the outcome of the August 15 Osun State governorship election as the constitutionally stipulated 21-day period for contesting the result came to an end.
The deadline expired on Saturday, with none of the 14 parties whose candidates lost the election approaching the Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the result.
This development means the victory of incumbent Governor, Ademola Adeleke has so far gone unchallenged at the tribunal, following his declaration as winner of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Adeleke, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord, polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes.
A total of 15 political parties fielded candidates in the election.
The tribunal registry, located within the premises of the Osun State High Court in Oke Fia, Osogbo, was opened shortly after the election results were announced to receive petitions from aggrieved candidates and parties.
On Saturday, the final day for filing petitions, the registry remained open for business when correspondents visited, but a staff member confirmed that no petition had been received.
All efforts to obtain the reaction of the Osun APC were unsuccessful, as calls to the party’s spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, were unanswered. A WhatsApp message sent to him had also not received a response as of Sunday.
However, a member of the APC legal team, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly on the matter, said the party had decided against challenging the election in court in the interest of peace.
He, however, maintained that the party had grounds to question the outcome.
“Not that we don’t have grounds to challenge Adeleke’s election. There are good grounds to challenge the outcome of the poll. But the party hierarchy and the legal team, after deliberations, resolved not to file any petition.
“Power belongs to God, and He gives whoever He wants. We decided not to file any petition in the interest of peace,” he said.
The decision was also welcomed by the Osun State Accord chairman, Victor Akande, who described the failure of opposition candidates to approach the tribunal as a sign of political maturity.
“We appreciate the maturity of the candidates of the opposition for not challenging the outcome of the poll.
“That itself is good for democracy, if an election stops at the poll. The idea of going to court to regain a mandate is sometimes not good for democracy,” Akande said.
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Olugbenga Ajala, also said the election was considered sufficiently fair, making a legal challenge unnecessary.
“The election came, and it’s gone. Fair enough; we have to be content with the outcome of the poll because we believe the best candidate won, and we also believe that the president is fair enough,” Ajala said.
He added, “If the election has not been fair enough, we would have headed for the tribunal, but we give thanks to God that the process can be seen by all to be very fair. That is why no party or candidate is coming forward with any petition.”
With the filing window now closed, Adeleke’s victory remains unchallenged before the election petition tribunal, marking a relatively unusual development in Nigerian electoral politics especially Osun State where disputed results often lead to prolonged legal battles.