The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has filed a formal application to withdraw its petition challenging the re-election victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke following the August 15 governorship poll.
Legal practitioner Seyi Oyagbile submitted the motion, titled "NOTICE OF MOTION TO WITHDRAW PETITION," at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal secretariat located within the High Court premises in Osogbo. The filing came less than 24 hours after details of the suit, marked EPT/Os/Gov/01/2026, appeared on the tribunal's notice board.
Confirming the strategic retreat on Tuesday, Oyagbile stated that he acted directly on fresh directives from his party principals. "It is true. I have filed a notice to withdraw the petition," Oyagbile told The PUNCH. He added that he requested written confirmations via WhatsApp before pulling the suit to ensure the decision remained uncontroverted.
Senior Advocates of Nigeria representing the party's primary legal team publicly disowned the challenge shortly after its display. Speaking on behalf of the team, Adekunle Adegoke (SAN) explained that candidate Asiwaju Bola Oyebamiji had already conceded defeat to preserve state stability.
"We took our client through the gamut of our findings," Adegoke stated. "There may have been valid grounds to challenge the result, but we decided to allow the populace to rest. Let there be peace."
Meanwhile, the status of a second petition (EPT/Os/Gov/02/2026) listing the Peoples Democratic Party as petitioner has sparked additional controversy. The PDP national leadership disavowed the suit entirely, labeling those behind it as unauthorised impostors.
"The PDP was embarrassed by the action of those who filed that petition," PDP National Treasurer Diran Odeyemi said in an official statement. "We are asking the NBA and the LPDC to investigate those who filed a petition without authorisation of our party."
In the official results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Governor Adeleke of the Accord party polled 511,067 votes to defeat Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes.
