Osun: Is Ademola Adeleke about to suffer 2018 fate?
Ademola Adeleke is in the news again. On Friday, the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo nullified his election as governor of the state.
Justice Tertsea Kume, chairman of the three-man panel, held that the July 16, 2022 governorship election did not comply with the Electoral Act, thereby invalidating Adeleke’s victory.
Tertsea said that there was indeed over voting in six local government areas in the state.
The development is coming a few months after the ex-lawmaker, who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared governor of Osun by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to results announced by INEC, Adeleke secured 403, 371 votes while Gboyega Oyetola polled 375,027 votes.
The tribunal ruling has continued to elicit intense reactions across the country, with many expressed mixed opinions over the matter.
As things stand, there is possibility Adeleke could experience a repeat of 2018 where he lost out at the appeal court and supreme court respectively.
THE 2018 EXPERIENCE
Adeleke was the candidate of the PDP during the 2018 governorship election in Osun where he lost to Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the time, INEC had declared Oyetola the winner of the election after a rerun in September 2018.
Dissatisfied with INEC’s declaration, however, Adeleke had filed a petition at the tribunal and he was declared winner of the election but Oyetola appealed the verdict of the tribunal.
The appeal court would later give its judgement in favour of Oyetola — a verdict the supreme court also upheld.
Adeleke’s foray into politics started after the demise of Isiaka, his elder brother, in 2017.
He had replaced Isiaka as representative of Osun west senatorial district and was referred to as “dancing senator”, especially on social media, because of his dancing skills.
Several videos of the former lawmaker dancing have surfaced on the internet on numerous occasions, especially since he joined politics.
Adeleke is the father to musicians B-Red and Sina Rambo, and an uncle to Davido, the award-winning singer.
Will he experience a repeat of history again?