Osun guber: Court clears Adeleke

An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo has cleared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ademola Adeleke, as fit for the September 22 governorship election in the state having fulfilled the requirements of the constitution.
Judge David Oladimeji also affirmed that no case of cerificate forgery was established against the Senator.
In his ruling, the judge, who cited several previous rulings on similar cases, explained that Senator Ademola Adeleke is qualified to run for the gubernatorial position having satisfied the requirements of the ‘Section’ (177) Subsection (D) of 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended.
According to the details of the section mentioned above, any candidate seeking election into the highest political office in the state must be a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, be a member of a political party and been sponsored by the party as well as being educated up to secondary school level or its equivalent.
The judge, who first struck out allegations bordering on forgery, clarified that all documents presented by the defendant are genuine, noting that the case of forgery doesn’t exist anywhere.
He also stated clearly that Adeleke, having fulfilled the requirements of the law, is qualified to run as the case against him lacks merit, and thereby dismissed the case.
In his reaction, the counsel to Adeleke, Lekan Olayiwola, described the judgement as a victory for democracy, affirming: “We are vindicated”.
While commending the court for upholding the country’s judicial values, Olayiwola urged members of the public to keep supporting and vote for Adeleke in the September 22 election.
Following the judgement, Adeleke has appealed for peace and unity within the party, affirming that the judgement, which is a victory for good people of Osun State, should energise the party for a resounding victory in September.
The PDP flagbearer called on those who took him to court and other aggrieved groups to forget the past and join hands with his team to dislodge the All Progressive Congress (APC) in September.
“Today’s judgement is a divine window of opportunity for all members of PDP in Osun state to unite under this victory umbrella. I extend hands of fellowship and brotherhood to all aggrieved party members, including those who took me to court. Let us move forward.
“Political contest cannot be without grievances. We, however, must act beyond personal interests to consider the burden of leadership placed on all of us. Our followers are worried, they are fed up with the bickering and mudslinging. Now that all doubts have been cleared and rumours laid to rest, let us now commence the active and arduous task of aggressive campaigning. We are all stakeholders in this victory and coming victory in September by the grace of God.
“The suffering people of Osun State are patiently waiting on us. They know PDP is the only party that can stop the continuation of inhuman government and end the legacy of poverty. The voters eagerly and earnestly look up to us, the expectations are huge. We cannot afford to disappoint them”, the governorship hopeful said.
While calling on leaders and followers of PDP to launch aggressive electoral campaign, the candidate restated his commitment to run a people-centred government if voted into office.