APC Replies Davido’s Father’s Claim On Osun Election Being Rigged

Sade AdewaleJuly 12, 2019

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The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State has replied Davido’s father, Dr Deji Adeleke, over claims that his brother, Ademola Adeleke was deprived of his victory in the 2018 Osun State election.

Adeleke had said that the ”day light robbery” that deprived his brother of the mandate freely given by the good people of Osun State, had brought shame and disgrace to Nigeria as a country.

However reacting to the claim, the APC in a statement signed by its Media Director, Barr Kunle Oyatomi, said that Senator Ademola Adeleke is not a governor today because he lost the Osun Governorship election. It reads in full;

The statement of Dr Deji Adeleke that his brother, the PDP candidate won the election has no basis in law and in facts and should be disregarded by all well-meaning people who believe in the rule of law and the democratic process.

“That Deji Adeleke and some other people desperately wished for his brother to win could not make him victorious. More importantly, however, is the fact that at no time during the election process did INEC declare Senator Ademola Adeleke winner.

“Initially, the election was stalemated because no clear winner emerged due to serious irregularities and violence in Orolu, Osogbo and Ife Federal constituencies, which rendered the votes at seven polling units invalid.

“In law, when there is such a stalemate, INEC makes the determination for a re-run election at those polling units; especially so if the total votes in the affected units are more than enough to upturn any advantage of either of the two leading contestants.

“The PDP candidate lost the re-run election and therefore could not become governor. At that point the case went to the Tribunal for legal determination.

“Although the Election Tribunal in its judgment gave the election to the PDP, the Superior Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the country made clear in their determination of the position of the law that;

“Not only was INEC right to declare the first election stalemated, the final outcome of the process produced a clear winner, who is Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the APC candidate.

“So, legally and factually, the winner was the APC candidate albeit by a narrow margin. Such a re-run election was not peculiar to the state of Osun. Similar situations had occurred in some other states before and after that of the state of Osun.

“Such situations occurred in Imo (2011 and 2015), Anambra (2013), Taraba (2015), Abia (2015), Kogi (2015), and Bayelsa (2015). After Osun in 2018, INEC, empowered by Electoral Law in Sec 53 (3), also in March 2019, declared inconclusive, guber elections in Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto.

“Winners and losers had emerged after the re-run and the Supreme Court did uphold the outcome. The case of Osun, therefore, is not strange.

“For Dr Deji Adeleke to still be dreaming that his brother won the election, simply shows that he has scant regard for the rule of law and belief in the democratic process.”