The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State has withdrawn the petition it filed challenging the outcome of the August 15 governorship election won by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The withdrawal came on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal displayed two petitions challenging Adeleke’s re-election victory.
According to The Nation, the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had filed separate petitions against the election outcome under suit numbers EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026 and EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026 respectively.
The APC petition was filed by its counsel, Barrister Oluseyi Oyagbile, who submitted the document at the tribunal in Osogbo on Saturday alongside the party’s Deputy Governorship Candidate, Engr. Kayode Adereti, and other party leaders.
Adereti reportedly signed the petition on behalf of the APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, while other party leaders and executives were also present at the tribunal.
However, the development sparked controversy after another group claiming to represent the APC legal team rejected the petition and insisted that the party had not authorised any legal challenge against Adeleke’s victory.
The legal team, led by Dr Abiodun Layonu, SAN, had earlier denounced the petition and maintained that the APC was not challenging the outcome of the election.
Oyagbile later confirmed to The Nation on Tuesday that the petition he filed on behalf of the party had been withdrawn.
He said his client and APC leaders contacted him on Tuesday morning and instructed him to withdraw the case.
Oyagbile added that he requested written confirmation of the instruction through WhatsApp before proceeding with the withdrawal to prevent any future dispute over who authorised the decision.
He also maintained that Adereti had signed the petition at the tribunal on Saturday in the presence of APC leaders and party executives.
The withdrawal effectively ends the immediate legal challenge filed in the name of the APC, following the earlier disagreement over whether the party and its candidate authorised the petition.
