A fresh controversy has emerged before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo after the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disowned petitions purportedly filed in their names to challenge Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 governorship election.
The controversy began after two separate petitions dated September 5, 2026, were displayed at the tribunal’s secretariat. The documents appeared to indicate that the APC and its candidate, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, as well as the PDP candidate, Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, popularly known as Fryo, had commenced legal proceedings against the election result.
One of the petitions, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, listed Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) named as respondents.
The second, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, identified Adedamola as the petitioner and listed INEC, Accord and Adeleke as respondents. The tribunal secretary, Pefe Belemore, confirmed that petitions challenging the election outcome had been filed.
However, the APC legal team quickly denied authorising the petition attributed to the party and its candidate.
Adekunle Adegoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and member of the APC legal team, said the lawyers had met with Oyebamiji and other party leaders after the election and advised against challenging the result at the tribunal.
According to him, the legal team believed litigation could heighten tension and was not in the best interest of the state. He said the decision was also consistent with Oyebamiji’s public acceptance of the result and his subsequent congratulatory message to Adeleke.
Adegoke further alleged that the petition displayed at the tribunal was filed by individuals who were not authorised to act on behalf of the APC or its candidate. He maintained that neither the party nor Oyebamiji instructed the lawyers responsible for the petition to commence the case.
The PDP candidate, Adedamola, also rejected the petition filed in his name.
He said neither he nor his counsel initiated any legal action against Adeleke and that he had not been informed of any decision by the PDP to challenge the election.
Adedamola also pointed to his previous public support for Adeleke, saying he had backed the governor before the election and voted for him. He therefore questioned why he would subsequently authorise a petition seeking to overturn the governor’s victory.
The development has generated confusion over the actual origin and authority behind the two petitions and raised questions about the legal processes through which the documents came before the tribunal.
The controversy is particularly notable because Adeleke’s victory had already appeared to have closed the immediate electoral contest. He was declared winner of the August 15 poll after securing 511,067 votes, according to reports on the election.
The emergence of petitions that the purported petitioners themselves deny authorising has therefore introduced a new dimension to the post-election dispute.
As of the latest developments, both the APC legal team and the PDP candidate have maintained that they did not authorise the respective petitions. The circumstances surrounding the filing and the identity and authority of those behind the documents remain central to the unfolding tribunal controversy.
