Justice Oyewole Is Not A Member Of Osun Guber Election Panel ..Appeal Court Tells PDP

Contrary to the claim by the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Court of Appeal has said that Justice Joseph Oyewole, of the Enugu Division of the court, is not member of the Osun State governorship election appeal tribunal set up by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.

A statement by the spokesperson of the Appeal Court Headquarters, Hajia Sa’adatu Musa Kachalla said, Justice Oyewole, an industrious son of Osun State, is not a Member of the Tribunal as claimed by the PDP.

She said Justice Bulkachuwa, who is heading the Court of Appeal will not do anything that will put her integrity to test.

The statement called on members of the public “Not to be misguided by desperate and jittery individuals whose action is to heat up the polity.

“Time has changed, and it is better for us to change with time. The era of fake News is over,” the statement added.

Recalled the leadership of the PDP was reported to have rejected the inclusion of Justice Oyewole on the tribunal, alleging that the Judge has strong connections with the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is an interested party in the case under appeal.

The spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan had told a press conference that the party has petitioned the President of the Court of Appeal alleging the likelihood of Justice Oyewole being bias against its candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke and his party, PDP.

The election petition tribunal had earlier voided the election of Mr Gboyega Oyetola of the APC who won the 2018 Osun governorship poll and ordered the immediate swearing-in of Adeleke as the winner of the election.

The PDP alleged in its petition that, “Justice Oyewole (JCA) is an indigene of Osun State and he had served as a High Court Judge of Lagos state and had thus served under the administration of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, (the national leader of the APC) while he (Tinubu) was the governor of Lagos State.

“When the seat of the Chief Judge of Osun State became vacant, some years back, upon the retirement of Hon. Justice G.O Ojo, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu insisted on having his anointed candidate, Justice Oyewole, on the Judiciary of Osun State at all cost.

“It will be recalled that it took the courageous intervention of the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar to prevail that the most senior judge of Osun state judiciary should be so appointed.

“When a seat became vacant at the Court of Appeal, the name of Justice Oyewole was pushed forward by Senator Tinubu, using the slot of Osun State and thus, Justice Oyewole became Justice of the Court of Appeal.

‘’As such he should not sit as a panel member for a governorship election dispute between the PDP and the APC. Moreover, Justice Oyewole is from Osun state. The instant appeal is over the decision of the Osun state Governorship Tribunal.

“Given his connections with the APC, it will be most unsafe to allow Hon. Justice Oyewole to sit on the Appeal Panel. We are not assured that justice will be done with Justice Oyewole as a member of the Panel.”