The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected a petition challenging the victory of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in the August 15 governorship election.
The party said the petition was filed without its approval and does not represent its position on the outcome of the election.
This development has created fresh uncertainty around the election petition proceedings in Osun after two separate petitions were displayed at the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo.
One of the petitions, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, listed Adebayo Olugbenga Adedamola, the PDP governorship candidate in the election, as the petitioner.
Governor Adeleke, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Accord Party were named as respondents.
However, both Adedamola and the PDP have now denied knowledge of the case.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, the PDP described the petition as “unauthorised, misleading and without the prior knowledge of the party.”
The party said it did not authorise, sponsor or endorse any legal action seeking to overturn Adeleke’s victory.
According to the PDP, there are established procedures for instituting legal proceedings on behalf of the party.
It maintained that the necessary authority was not obtained before the disputed petition was filed at the tribunal.
The party therefore said the lawyer responsible for the petition did not have a mandate to act on its behalf.
The development came shortly after the petition was publicly displayed at the tribunal, creating the impression that the PDP had joined the legal challenge against Adeleke’s re-election.
That position was quickly disputed by Adedamola, who also said he did not instruct his lawyers to challenge the election.
The PDP candidate said he was not aware of any petition filed in his name and had not taken steps to contest the result announced by INEC.
“There’s no petition filed by me or my counsel. So, I don’t know where they manufactured the petition they submitted at the tribunal,” he said.
Adedamola also explained that he had no reason to challenge Adeleke’s victory.
He recalled the position taken by the PDP before the election and said his personal action on election day did not suggest that he intended to challenge the governor afterwards.
He said no meeting was held by the party to decide on a legal challenge to the election result.
The PDP has consequently moved to distance itself from the disputed court action and is expected to take steps to formally establish that the petition was not filed with the party’s approval.
The party also warned against the unauthorised use of its name, officials and legal representatives in court proceedings.
It said anyone found to have impersonated the PDP or acted in its name without authority would face appropriate legal action.
The party further called on relevant authorities to investigate how the petition came to be filed and determine those behind it.
The controversy is coming at a time when the legal process surrounding the Osun governorship election has already attracted considerable attention.
INEC declared Adeleke the winner of the August 15 election with 511,067 votes, while the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, polled 444,815 votes. The result gave Adeleke another term in office.
The election result initially appeared to be heading into a legal contest after petitions bearing the names of the PDP and APC emerged before the tribunal.
However, the situation changed rapidly after the parties and candidates began distancing themselves from the documents.
In the APC’s case, the party’s legal team also denied authorising the petition filed in the name of Oyebamiji. The petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, had listed Oyebamiji and the APC as petitioners against Adeleke, Accord and INEC.
The APC subsequently moved to withdraw the disputed petition from the tribunal, adding another twist to the legal drama surrounding the election.
