APC Withdraws Petition Against Adeleke’s Victory

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has withdrawn the petition challenging the re-election of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, barely 24 hours after notices of election petitions were displayed at the governorship election tribunal in Osogbo.

Naija News reports that the lawyer who filed the petition, Oluseyi Oyagbile, confirmed the withdrawal to The Nation on Tuesday, saying he acted after receiving fresh instructions from his client and APC leaders.

The development followed controversy within the opposition party over the petition, after another legal team led by Abiodun Layonu (SAN) publicly disowned the case and insisted that neither the party nor its governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, authorised a challenge to the August 15 election.

Oyagbile said APC leaders contacted him on Tuesday morning and instructed him to discontinue the case.

“My client and leaders of APC reached out to me this morning to withdraw the petition I filed on their behalf. I have withdrawn the petition,” he said.

The lawyer added that he requested written evidence of the latest instruction before acting, following the disagreement that surrounded the filing.

“Before I do so, I made them send WhatsApp messages to me giving the instruction so that it will not be a matter of controversy again,” Oyagbile added.

Two petitions challenging the outcome of the Osun governorship election had been displayed at the Election Petition Tribunal Secretariat on Monday.

They were marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026 and EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026.

The first bore the names of APC governorship candidate Oyebamiji and the party, while the second was purportedly filed in the name of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Adebayo Adedamola.

Both the APC legal team and Adedamola subsequently denied authorising the respective petitions attributed to them.