The immediate past governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described the Thursday verdict of the Court of Appeal, which restored the victory of Governor Gboyega Oyetola, as satisfactory, saying that justice has been served.
He said from the perspectives of substantive justice for the people and the point of law, the appellate court did the right thing.
In a statement titled ‘Justice is served’, issued by the ex-governor’s media adviser, Mr Sola Fasure, in Osogbo, Ogbeni Aregbesola observed that there were too many holes in the judgement of the tribunal, hence, it was easy for the Appeal Court to upturn it.
Aregbesola further affirmed that the wild jubilation in Osun after the judgement is an indication that the people overwhelmingly accepted the verdict with joy.
The former governor of Osun commended the judges of the Court of Appeal for their courage and for averting a monumental injustice that would have arisen from the overthrow of the electoral will of the people if the tribunal judgement had been affirmed.
The statement in full states: “We received the report of the judgement of the Court of Appeal on the Osun governorship election with joy and satisfaction that justice has been served. The judgement is rich, well-reasoned, well-argued and deeply satisfying.
“The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja Thursday set aside the judgement of the Osun Election Petition Tribunal and affirmed the election of Governor Gboyega Oyetola and the victory of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the governorship election of September 22 and 27 last year.
“The cause of justice – of the substance of the case and of the law – has been duly served. The errors of the tribunal, from the point of law and electoral justice, were too many and imponderable. They could not have withstood sound legal scrutiny and demands of justice for the people.
“The judgement sits well with the people of the state as they spontaneously erupted into joyous celebration after the verdict has been read. It affirmed their electoral choice and more importantly the rule of law and faith in the Court of Appeal.
“The Court of Appeal, in the best tradition of higher courts, invoked the spirit and letter of the law and delivered justice to the people. In so doing, these courageous judges prevented the subversion of democracy in which the political will of the people would have been overthrown and an impostor imposed on the good people of Osun as their governor.
“The Court of Appeal, thankfully, has averted what would have been a monumental democratic tragedy. We must commend the courage and forthrightness of the judges of the Court of Appeal in arriving at this landmark decision.
“We thank and commend the people of Osun and the members and supporters of the APC for their calmness, peaceful disposition and faith in the rule of law, before during and after the trial.
The leadership and members of our party will continue to stand with the people and their interest at all times.”
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