The President-elect, Bola Tinubu has reacted to the victory of the Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke at the Supreme Court.

Naija News recalls that the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Adegboyega Oyetola had dragged Adeleke to court over the outcome of the July 16, 2022 poll.

While the Tribunal sacked Adeleke, the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court affirmed the senator as the authentic winner of the July 16, 2022 poll.

Reacting to Adeleke’s victory, Tinubu noted that the verdict on the Osun governorship tussle must be respected.

Speaking via a statement the President-elect said, “I congratulate Mr. Ademola Adeleke over his declaration by the Supreme Court as the winner of Osun Governorship election.

“The apex court in the land has spoken and all of us must obey its verdict. It is the right thing to do for democracy and rule of law to continue to thrive in the land.

“I must also commend the immediate-past governor of the state, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, for exercising his democratic rights as the constitution allows him to do.

“Governor Oyetola discharged himself creditably in office. He lost the office but did not lose his integrity and reputation as the governor who brought efficiency, transparency and accountability to the business of governance.

“Now that the matter of the July 16, 2022 Osun State Governorship Election has been brought to a close, I urge Governor Adeleke to immediately settle down to work and continue from where the former governor left it. He should now move to unite the state.

“I also urge all the people of Osun to work for peace and progress in the state.”

The Supreme Court judgment which affirmed the election of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, will serve as judicial precedent or guidance for election-related matters in Nigeria including those currently at the Presidential Election Petition Court, Barrister Omalade Matthew Koledolapo told THE WHISTLER on Tuesday.

The doctrine of judicial precedent is a pattern in law whereby judges follow previously decided cases of higher courts particularly where the facts are similar.

The apex court held in the case between former Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola and Adeleke that the former’s claim that over-voting occurred in 744 polling units in the state could only be proved using evidence from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS machine, voters register and INEC’s Form EC8.

“It is glaring that the appellant did not provide in evidence, any BVAS, but sought to prove over-voting by means of a report of examination of INEC’s database or backend server.

“In the light of the foregoing, I hold that it is the record in the BVAS machine of the accredited voters or a certified true copy of an INEC certificate of that record for each polling unit that can prove the number of accredited voters in a polling unit on the day of the election and nothing else,” the court held on Tuesday while upholding Adeleke’s victory.

Reacting after the court rose, Koledolapo told THE WHISTLER that because the rules of court deal with judicial precedent, today’s Supreme Court verdict is a “starting point in our electoral process.”

He said it will serve as a precedent on subsequent election-related matters in Nigeria.

“Of course, the presidential election petitions will end at the Supreme Court,” Koledolapo said.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has described the Supreme Court judgment on Adeleke as “the final decision”.

“Let me also recognize and acknowledge the important role of the judiciary in deepening rule of law and democracy in Nigeria,” Buhari tweeted on Tuesday.

The witness shared her initial encounter with Daniels, which occurred on May 28, 2018, when he visited Akure for a church event.

She later became a member of the church and was eventually made assistant pastor.

The victim testified that on June 21, 2020, Daniels summoned her to the Lagos church to be punished for missing a ministers’ conference and failing to transcribe some of his audio teachings.

He then allegedly ordered her to undress, claiming he wanted to have sex with her as proof of her loyalty.

After she refused, Daniels reportedly raped her, ignoring her pleas and telling her to “shut up.”

Narrating the ordeal she said, “He pinned me against a three-seater couch and raped me. He was bigger than me and I was bleeding from my private part.

“I was begging him but he didn’t listen. I told him I was bleeding, he said he knew and that I should shut up.

“When he was done, he ordered me to go and wash up immediately. He collected my phone and cleaned the blood before I came out. He said I should not tell anybody and that the day I tell anyone, I will run mad.”

A day after the incident happened, the victim managed to send a coded message to her pastor via Whatsapp, who initially thought it was a joke.

Two days later, Daniels raped her again, threatening her with death if she revealed the incident.

She added, “On June 23, I was planning how to leave and when I came out of the room, he was tying a red towel and he said I should even be happy that he raped me, that he told me he wanted to have sex with me and I rejected him.

“He said people would have been happy that he had sex with them. He took off my clothes and raped me again. He told me that I would die if I tell anyone.

“I bled the second time and he ordered me again to go and take my bath and ordered me back into the room. I immediately sent a message to Pastor Oladejo that the bishop had raped me again.”

The defendant took the victim to a hospital in Lekki, instructing her to tell the doctor who was a member of the church that she was raped by her boyfriend.

The trial will continue on May 24 and 25.

A House of Representatives member-elect who spoke off-the-record to THE WHISTLER revealed that aspirants for the position of the Speaker of the Federal House are “bombarding” them with incessant “calls and money.”

The member who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, made the revelation on Tuesday during the ongoing induction for all members-elect in Abuja.

He alleged that, “lobbying of all kinds is going on, we can’t breathe. Meetings upon meetings, caucus this, caucus that.

“I’m at my wit’s end. The intensity is too much,” he said.

Several aspirants have indicated their interests to contest for the position despite the ruling APC anointing some candidates.

The party in a statement issued on Monday at the end of its National Working Committee meeting announced Abass Tajudeen as its preferred choice for the speakership.

The APC spokesman, Felix Morka, who confirmed the endorsement to this paper said, “the decision was authentic” and stands in consonance to the pick made by the president-elect, Bola Tinubu.

The APC is considered a ‘majority minority’ in the House as it controls less number compared to the combined number controlled by the opposition political parties.

Figures obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by THE WHISTLER showed the APC has 178 elected members while the opposition political parties have 182 in the 360 member-house.

A breakdown of the seats won by the opposition political parties showed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has 116 seats, the Labour Party with 35, and the New Nigeria Peoples Democratic, NNPP, won 19 seats.

Also, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, won 5 seats while the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, won 2 seats each, the Young Progressive Party, YPP, won 1 seat.

However, the opposition political parties have teamed up to present a common candidate using the majority as speaker.

The Member-elect, who’s from the South-south said the committee which was set up on Monday would do a good job.

Recall the opposition parties appointed member-elect, Nicholas Mutu as Chairman and Victor Ogene as secretary of the 11-mqn committee it set up.

The committee stated afterwards that, “Based on the common pact which our respective political parties have with the Nigerian people, which is to hold the government accountable to the people, we resolved to step into the arena by offering credible and alternative leadership options.

“In keeping with this resole, the ‘Greater Majority’ of the 10th House of Representatives has put together an 11-man committee – complemented by a chairman and secretary – charged with the task of shortlisting, screening and eventual recommendation of the aspirants for the speakership and deputy Speaker positions,” it said in its statement to the News Agency of Nigeria.

The member however refused to state the amount being shared and if he also benefited, noting that, “What’s happening per money across the senators-elect is also happening in the House, that’s what I’m saying.

“As per lobbying, it’s normal for calls but it’s the intensity that some of us are complain about.”