JUST IN: Appeal Court confirms Adeleke as Osun PDP’s guber candidate

The Court of Appeal, Akure Division, has dismissed a suit filed by Prince Dotun Babayemi, a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking to be declared as the party’s authentic candidate for last Saturday’s election.

Babayemi had dragged governor elect, Mr Ademola Adeleke before the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, seeking to nullify his candidature after a dispute over the conduct of the governorship primary.

Two factions of the party had on March 8, 2021, conducted separate governorship primaries featuring Adeleke and Babayemi.

Babayemi was declared the winner of the primary election held at the Children and Women Development Centre in Osogbo, while the primary election held at Osogbo City Stadium and backed by the PDP national working committee produced Adeleke.

In a list of candidates later released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adeleke was recognised as the duly-elected candidate to fly the flag of the PDP in the governorship election in the state.

In a judgment delivered on May 18, Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel, the judge, held that the primary election conducted at the WOCDIF Centre, Osogbo, on March 8, which produced Babayemi is null and void.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Babayemi filed a suit at the Court of Appeal, challenging the judgment of the lower court and seeking to be declared as the PDP governorship candidate.

However, the appellate court,  in its judgment on Wednesday upheld the verdict of the high court and consequently dismissed Babayemi’s appeal.

On July 16, Adeleke was declared the winner of the governorship election by INEC.

He secured 403, 371 votes to defeat Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 375,027 votes.

It was not yet clear of Babayemi will proceed to the Supreme Court with the matter, which has reportedly generated some anxiety within the Adeleke camp.