The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has reacted to the victory of the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, at the Supreme Court.
OsunDaily News reported that the apex court on Tuesday affirmed Adeleke, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 16, 2022, gubernatorial election, as the Osun Governor.
The five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice John Okoro upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal which affirmed Adeleke as governor of Osun state.
In the judgement read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court held that Oyetola failed to adduce enough evidence to prove his allegation of overvoting in the July 16, 2022 governorship poll.
The panel also unanimously held that the failure of the election tribunal in Osun to consider the preliminary objections raised by Adeleke and the PDP at the trial level amounted to the detail of a fair hearing and rendered the entire proceeding nullity.
Reacting via Twitter, Keyamo said many people are of the opinion that any court judgment against the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a victory for the rule of law, nevertheless, he would congratulate Adeleke on his victory.
However, the opposition parties have failed to reflect on the issue of over-voting shown in the BVAS, a case before the election tribunal, hence, they should wait for the outcome in a few months’ time.
He tweeted, “Those celebrating the decision of the Supreme Court today in the Osun Governorship contest are naturally the members of the PDP. I congratulate them. They have been joined by the members of their Siamese twins, the LP. Anything against APC, for them, is a victory for the Rule of Law. I also congratulate them.
“However, they have not even stopped for a minute in their euphoria to reflect on the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court today as it affects the tenability of results obtained by BVAS to prove overvoting and how it affects their pending Presidential Election Petitions that will go before the same Supreme Court in a few months’ time.
“The Supreme Court has set a precedent today that can be a two-edged sword and when I reflected on it, I just chuckled. Please, pin this tweet somewhere awaiting the final decision of the Presidential Election cases. I say no more”
