APC Osun petition challenging Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory has been withdrawn by the party and its candidate, Bola Oyebamiji
Osogbo, Osun State, September 8, 2026: The All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, have moved to withdraw their petition challenging Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
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Seyi Oyagbile, counsel to the APC and Oyebamiji, filed a notice of motion seeking withdrawal of the petition before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo on Tuesday.
The motion, dated September 8, was filed at the tribunal’s office within the premises of the Osun State High Court.
The development came a day after notices for two governorship election petitions were displayed on the tribunal’s notice board, setting the stage for legal challenges to the election outcome.
The APC Osun petition, numbered EPT/Os/Gov/01/2026, identified Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, the Accord and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, listed as respondents.
However, the withdrawal motion indicates that the APC and its candidate no longer intend to pursue that challenge.
The document, titled “Notice of Motion to Withdraw Petition”, seeks an order allowing the petitioners to discontinue the case. The stated reason for the withdrawal was simply “Decision of Petitioner”.
Oyagbile confirmed that the process had been filed.
“It is true. I have filed a notice to withdraw the petition,” the lawyer said.
The move appears to formalise an earlier position taken by members of the APC legal team in Osun, who had distanced themselves from the petition after the election.
Adekunle Adegoke, a leader of the party’s legal team, said lawyers had met Oyebamiji and other APC leaders after the election to consider whether the result should be challenged.
According to Adegoke, those consultations resulted in a decision not to challenge Adeleke’s victory, with the legal team instead seeking to reduce political tension in the state.
“The consultations resulted in a decision not to challenge the election outcome at the tribunal. There was a need to de-escalate tension and allow peace to prevail in the state,” Adegoke said.
The withdrawal means the APC’s challenge, as represented by the petition filed by Oyebamiji, is set to leave the tribunal unless the court requires further steps before formally bringing the matter to an end.
A separate petition, numbered EPT/Os/Gov/02/2026, has also appeared before the tribunal. It lists the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as petitioner, with INEC, Accord and Adeleke as respondents.
However, the PDP has disputed that petition and says it did not authorise anyone to file a legal challenge on its behalf.
Diran Odeyemi, the PDP National Treasurer and an Osun party chieftain, said the party’s national leadership had not engaged any lawyer to challenge the governorship result.
Odeyemi said the PDP, under National Chairman Abdulrahman Mohammed and National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, had not authorised legal proceedings against the election outcome.
He called on the Nigerian Bar Association and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to investigate those behind the purported petition.
“We must not allow impostors to mess up the Nigerian legal system,” Odeyemi said.
The competing developments have created an unusual situation around the legal aftermath of the Osun election, with one major opposition party seeking to withdraw its petition while another disputes the authenticity of a separate case purportedly filed in its name.
For Adeleke, the APC’s decision removes one direct challenge to his electoral victory, although the status of the second petition will depend on the tribunal’s consideration and the PDP’s position.
The development also adds a fresh dimension to the political landscape in Osun, where the outcome of the August election has remained a significant issue for the state’s major parties.
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The immediate focus will now shift to the tribunal as it considers the APC’s withdrawal application and determines the status of the separate petition attributed to the PDP.
