The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate in the August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election, Bola Oyebamiji, have disowned a petition purportedly filed against the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The petition, which reportedly bore the names of the APC and Oyebamiji, was displayed at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal Secretariat in Osogbo on Monday.
The development has generated controversy over the authenticity and authority of the petition, particularly as the APC had reportedly agreed not to challenge the outcome of the election at the tribunal.
Two petitions dated September 5, 2026, were displayed at the tribunal secretariat.
The first, numbered EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, was purportedly filed by Oyebamiji and the APC against Adeleke, the Accord Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The second petition, numbered EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was filed by Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola against Adeleke, INEC and the Accord Party.
The Secretary of the tribunal, Pefe Belemore, had earlier confirmed that petitions challenging the election had been filed.
However, a member of the APC legal team, Barrister Muideen Adeoye, said neither the party nor Oyebamiji authorised the petition.
Adeoye said the APC legal team had reached an agreement with the party hierarchy not to challenge the election at the tribunal.
“We did not file any petition, either for the candidate or the party. The said petition may have emanated from some persons within the party, but it is without the permission of the leadership,” he said.
He added that the appearance of the petition at the tribunal was unexpected.
“The legal team, in conjunction with the party hierarchy, agreed not to file any petition and we did not file any.
“I am also aware that notice of petition was pasted at the tribunal today. That is strange, and I repeat, we did not file the said petition.”
Another senior member of the APC legal team, Dr Abiodun Layonu, SAN, also rejected the purported petition.
Layonu described the development as shocking, insisting that neither Oyebamiji nor the APC authorised the legal action.
He urged APC members and members of the public to disregard the petition, saying it did not originate from the party’s legal team.
The controversy followed the declaration of Adeleke as winner of the August 15 governorship election.
The Accord Party, however, said it was not disturbed by the development, maintaining that any aggrieved candidate or political party had the right to seek judicial redress.
The party’s Osun State Chairman, Victor Akande, said approaching the tribunal was preferable to actions capable of disrupting peace in the state.
He, however, expressed reservations about the growing practice of determining election outcomes through litigation rather than at the polling booth.
“It is better to approach the tribunal than taking laws into their hands by disrupting peace and other things.
“I believe our election should end at the poll; the court should not be deciding the winners of elections,” Akande said.
