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From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Osun State Election Petition Tribunal has granted an order allowing the petitioners, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), to serve the governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, through a substituted means.
The petitioners had alleging that Adeleke had been evading service of the notice of court proceedings.
Chairman of the tribunal, Tertsea Kume, granted the order as prayed by the petitioners and ordered that the process be served on Adeleke by posting it on the court notice board.
The tribunal also granted a prayer to inspect the election materials and to conduct electronic scanning of voters’ registers and ballot papers.
Lead counsel to the petitioners, Yomi Aliu, said the first respondent, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the third respondent, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been served but Adeleke has been evading service.
Reacting to the order, the media sub-committee chairman for the transition committee, Olawale Rasheed, said access to the governor-elect has been highly restrictive because of the suspected agenda from the APC administration to engineer violence and turn around to blame the PDP.
He denied reports that the governor-elect evaded court service.
“Adeleke is very much in Osun attending to transition responsibilities in preparation for his assumption of office in November.
“We must, however, admit that security around the governor-elect is expectedly tight since his declaration as the winner of the July 16 election. Ever since the incumbent was defeated, we suspect an agenda from the APC administration to engineer violence and turn around to blame the PDP. Access to the governor-elect is, therefore, highly restrictive,” he said in the statement.
