On the 25th of March 2019 the tribunal upheld the victory of Senator Adeleke of the PDP as the true winner of the 2918 governorship election in Osun state.
Recall that this is not the first time the tribunal has upheld similar cases, in 2016, about 81 elections, conducted during the 2015 general election, were upturned by the courts; the highest number since the 2007 elections. Of significance is the nullification of the Rivers State governorship election, of which Nyesom Wike was declared winner by an election petition tribunal. The Appeal Court upheld the decision of the tribunal sacking Wike, and when it seemed doom was certain for him, the Supreme Court affirmed his election.
In the 2019 general election, the PDP has rejected the result that made the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari emerge winner in the election.
The PDP has filed a case at the Tribunal with evidence of electoral malpractices. Our correspondent here presents the views of some Nigerians on whether the main opposition party can emerge victorious at the tribunal.
David Timilehin
No. I don’t think so, this has never happened at the presidential level. Buhari isn’t looking like someone who will be willing to let go the position over an accusation of a rigged election. Atiku pushing towards justifying his victory may create some tension in the country and this isn’t a good atmosphere for the Nigerian economy. We have seen the equities market struggle to pick up because of low confidence of investors in the current government; with more issues in the political space arising, the economy will continue to take a hit.
Enwerem Prince
In as much as we truly believe in the independence of our judiciary we must first of all ask whether PDP have been a fan of judicial process after presidential elections since 1999. Adeleke has won at the tribunal but it may be difficult for the PDP presidential candidate to unseat an incumbent President through that process because every available arsenal will be pulled by the ruling APC to retain their mandate.
Dr Chubuike Amah
Atiku has a chance at the tribunal. Why? The authenticity of his evidence is quite huge and when verifiable, a court of competent jurisdiction would give a favourable verdict.
Jeremiah Mbata
I believe Atiku has a chance at the Election Petitions Tribunal just like Ademola Adeleke, the proclaimed winner of the Osun State election. It was obvious that the election was rigged and was definitely not free and fair as acclaimed.
Felix Eniogeru
Yes, Atiku has a chance, all things being equal. But, it is only if the Nigerian Judiciary is ready to fight for its freedom from the stranglehold of the Executive arm of government. This they can only do by giving rightful judgment based on evidential facts as presented by both warring parties, rather than succumb to intimidation and suppression by the Federal Government.
Now that the tribunal favoured Adeleke, I believe the Appeal Court judges will be under intense pressure to upturn the tribunal’s verdict. And, if that happens, then Atiku’s chances get slimmer, because in all fairness, Adeleke truly won the election and their verdict is based on facts and evidence.
Damilare
The case in Osun is quite different from that of the PDP presidential candidate. First, we must be careful saying Adeleke has been declared governor. No, the tribunal only removed the figure of the re-run election based on the case filed by the PDP candidate that the re-run shouldn’t have held since there was election. However, the APC candidate in Osun has gone to Appeal Court to argue the fact that election never took place in those locations due to INEC inefficiencies. Hence, the justification for the rerun… But of course, it’s a case in court already; we have to allow the Appeal Court to decide the next phase. I’m sure that Osun case will get to Supreme Court. For Atiku, he needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the election was rigged in favour of Buhari by presenting evidence of all the states and polling units’ results. He cannot win at the tribunal on the argument that INEC server or so had shown him that he won. Nigeria’s laws don’t accept electronic result. Secondly, he could also be accused of hacking the INEC server, which could lead to serious litigation against him. However, I don’t want to doubt that he has a good case to push. I don’t know the evidences he has gotten and that may be good enough to earn him the victory or not. In a nut shell, PDP can win both Osun and Presidential election litigations if they have adequate evidences. But both situations are different. Don’t forget, Adeleke won the initial election that was declared inconclusive due to the low margin between him and Oyetola, but Atiku “did not” win Buhari going by INEC declared result. So, Atiku is to challenge the result announced by INEC as false with convincing evidence while Adeleke just need to challenge the legality of the re-run election.
Omobola Adu
The declaration of Senator Adeleke as the winner of Osun State election is a signal of hope to Atiku and the PDP camp that the judicial system can deliver justice. However, beyond that I don’t really think the decision will be overturned. For Atiku to achieve this feat, he will have to indeed prove that the results he obtained that showed he had 1.3 million votes are accurate. The question is then, how will his lawyers prove that? The odds are stacked against him as they are relying on the results provided by an anonymous INEC official.
Omotayo Mercy
I really don’t have an answer yet, because the judiciary system is kind of epileptic to say, even the so-called victory given to Adeleke of Osun state is still unsure because the incumbent governor has since appealed. So, for the presidency, it’s still under probability that the tribunal will favour the People’s Democratic Party candidate. This is Nigeria, anything can happen.
Jonathan Aderoju
