The All Progressives Congress (APC) has abruptly withdrawn its petition challenging the re-election of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, barely 24 hours after the controversial suit surfaced at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.
The stunning U-turn came amid a growing storm within the party’s legal camp over who authorised the petition and whether the APC actually intended to challenge the outcome of the August 15 governorship election.
The APC petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, was one of two petitions displayed by the tribunal on Monday. The second, EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The APC suit was filed by Barrister Oluseyi Oyagbile, who appeared at the tribunal alongside the party’s Deputy Governorship Candidate, Engineer Kayode Adereti, and other party leaders.
But barely had the petition hit the tribunal’s notice board when a fierce controversy erupted.
An APC legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Abiodun Layonu, publicly disowned the petition, insisting that the suit was not authorised by the party’s leadership or the candidate.
Oyagbile, however, maintained that the petition was properly filed and insisted that Adereti had signed the document in the presence of party leaders and executives.
Then came the dramatic reversal. Oyagbile confirmed on Tuesday that he had withdrawn the petition after receiving fresh instructions from his client and APC leaders.
“My client and leaders of APC reached out to me this morning to withdraw the petition I filed on their behalf. I have withdrawn the petition,” he said.
The lawyer disclosed that, wary of the controversy surrounding the case, he demanded written confirmation of the instruction before proceeding with the withdrawal.
“Before I do so, I made them send WhatsApp messages to me giving the instruction so that it will not be a matter of controversy again,” Oyagbile said.
He further insisted that Adereti personally signed the petition at the tribunal on Saturday in the company of APC leaders and executives.
The development has now thrown the APC’s brief legal challenge into an extraordinary twist, with the petition withdrawn almost as quickly as it emerged.
For a party that appeared to be heading for a courtroom battle over Adeleke’s victory, the sudden withdrawal has left a trail of questions over what triggered the filing, who authorised it and why the party moved to terminate the case within barely a day.
24hrs Political Bombshell: APC Dumps Adeleke Case, Lawyers Clash
