Osun APC seeks withdrawal of disputed petition against Adeleke

The legal battle over the August 15 Osun State governorship election has taken a fresh turn, with an application now before the Election Petition Tribunal seeking the withdrawal of a petition filed in the name of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.

The move came barely a day after the APC publicly distanced itself from the petition, insisting that the document was neither authorised by the party nor sanctioned by its recognised legal team.

A Notice of Motion dated September 8, 2026, and received by the tribunal’s secretariat in Osogbo the same day, seeks an order permitting the petitioner to withdraw the case.

The application listed Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents, while Oyebamiji and the APC are named as petitioners.

The development followed the controversy triggered by the tribunal’s decision to publicly display petitions challenging the outcome of the election.

The tribunal had on Monday pasted notices containing two separate petitions purportedly lodged by the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), marking the formal commencement of proceedings arising from the election.

The APC subsequently disowned the petition attributed to it, throwing the ownership and authorisation of the case into question.

A senior member of the party’s legal team, Dr Abiodun Layonu, SAN, said the petition did not originate from the legal team and had not received the approval of the party leadership.

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The party’s campaign spokesperson, Remi Omowaye, also called on members of the public to disregard the document.

However, the lawyer who filed the disputed petition, Mr Seyi Oyagbile, later acknowledged his involvement, explaining that he acted on the instructions of the APC deputy governorship candidate, Engineer Benjamin Adereti.

Oyagbile also indicated that Adereti had signed the petition before it was presented to the tribunal.

In the Notice of Motion, the petitioner asked the tribunal for an order allowing the withdrawal of the petition, citing the “decision of petitioner” as the ground for the application.

The document is dated September 8, 2026, and is signed in connection with the application for withdrawal.

The withdrawal request came as the tribunal begins handling challenges arising from Adeleke’s victory in the August election, in which the governor was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission.