August 22, (THEWILL) – The Election Petition Tribunal sitting on the petition by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adegboyega Oyetola, has granted his application to scan the voter registers and ballot papers used for the July 16 governorship election in Osun.
THEWILL earlier reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Sunday, July 17, declared Adeleke, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of the Osun governorship poll.
Adeleke had polled 403,371 votes to defeat outgoing Goverernor Oyetola who scored 375,027 votes, to emerged Governor-elect of Osun State.
But faulting the outcome of the guber poll, outgoing governor Oyetola on August 6 filed petition before an election tribunal, challenging the victory of the PDP and its candidate, Adeleke.
The tribunal at its maiden sitting on Monday presided over by the chairman of the panel, Justice Tertsea Kume, granted Oyetola the permission to serve Adeleke, the notice of the petition through substituted means.
Counsel for Oyetola and the APC, Yomi Aliyu, had told the tribunal that a bailiff given the task could not serve Adeleke notice of the petition.
Aliyu further explained that the person met at the entrance to the PDP’s candidate’s residence in Ede refused to take the document from the bailiff that went to serve him.
He also told the panel that he would prefer that the notice be pasted on the notice board at the entrance of the tribunal sitting venue.
Ruling on the two motions, Justice Kume granted the reliefs sought by Oyetola and ordered that the notice should be pasted on the notice board at the entrance to the venue of the tribunal sitting.
Justice Kume also granted the motion ex parte filed for an order for inspection of documents in the custody of the first respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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