The development followed the display of two separate petitions on Monday, September 7, at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.
The first petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, listed Bola Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners, with Adeleke, Accord and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) named as respondents.
The second petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, listed Adedamola as the petitioner, while INEC, Accord and Adeleke were named as respondents.
Pefe Belemore, secretary of the tribunal, confirmed that petitions challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship election had been filed.
However, the APC legal team said it did not authorise any petition against Adeleke’s victory, while Adedamola maintained that neither he nor his lawyer had filed a case challenging the result.
Adekunle Adegoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and one of the leaders of the APC legal team, said the lawyers had advised Oyebamiji not to approach the tribunal after the election.
He said the legal team, comprising several senior advocates, met with Oyebamiji and other APC leaders after the results were announced and concluded that litigation would not be in the best interest of the state.
“Right from the second day of the election, at the level of the legal team being led by about four senior advocates of Nigeria, Dr Biodun Layoonu (SAN), Dr Yomi Aliyu (SAN), myself, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) and Dr Muritala Abdulrasheed (SAN),” Adegoke said.
He added that the team advised Oyebamiji that “the best in this circumstance is for us not to go to the tribunal”.
According to Adegoke, the decision was taken despite what the legal team considered valid grounds for challenging the election result, as the lawyers believed the people of Osun State should be allowed to “rest”.
He said Oyebamiji’s decision to congratulate Adeleke after the election was consistent with the position taken by the legal team.
Adegoke also questioned how Oyebamiji could have authorised a petition after publicly accepting the result and congratulating Adeleke.
“Our client, having willingly, without pressure, without duress, congratulated Governor Adeleke, do you now think it will be legitimate as a man of honour for Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji to go behind and authorise the filing of a petition?” he asked.
The SAN described the petition displayed at the tribunal as having been filed by individuals “masquerading as APC lawyers”.
“I want to be on record that the APC legal team has denounced the bundle of papers filed by some individuals masquerading as APC lawyers. It was not authorised by APC as a party or its candidate,” he said.
Similarly, Adedamola denied filing or authorising any petition challenging Adeleke’s victory.
Speaking on TVC on Monday, September 7, the PDP candidate said neither his lawyer nor any PDP leader had informed him of plans to challenge the election outcome.
“There’s no petition filed by me or my counsel. So, I don’t know where they manufactured the petition they submitted at the tribunal,” he said.
Adedamola said he had no reason to challenge Adeleke because he had publicly supported the governor before the election and voted for him.
He recalled that the PDP held a press conference on August 13 declaring support for Adeleke.
“There has never been any meeting where a decision has been reached to challenge the decision of the court,” he said.
“I even voted for Governor Adeleke of the Accord party. Why would I now change today and be filing any petition against him?”
Adeleke, who contested the August 15 governorship election on the platform of Accord, was declared the winner after polling 511,067 votes.
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