The All Progressives Congress (APC) has formally withdrawn its petition challenging the victory of Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, in the August 15 governorship election, barely 24 hours after the suit was displayed by the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
The dramatic withdrawal followed an internal disagreement over the petition, with one group of lawyers representing the APC insisting that the party had authorised the legal challenge, while another legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Abiodun Layonu, had earlier disowned the suit.
The APC petition, numbered EPT/OS/GOV/01/2026, was one of two petitions challenging the outcome of the election and was filed on Saturday. The second petition, EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, was filed by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
Counsel to the APC in the withdrawn case, Barrister Oluseyi Oyagbile, confirmed on Tuesday that he has withdrawn the petition following instructions from his client and APC leaders.
Oyagbile said he received the instruction on Tuesday morning and immediately took steps to withdraw the suit.
“My client and leaders of APC reached out to me this morning to withdraw the petition I filed on their behalf, I have withdrawn the petition,” he said.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 added that, because of the controversy that had already surrounded the petition, he insisted on receiving clear written instructions before withdrawing it.
“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.
Oyagbile also maintained that the petition was legitimately filed on behalf of the APC and that it was not the product of an unauthorised action by lawyers.
He said Kayode Adereti, the party’s deputy governorship candidate, accompanied the filing at the tribunal on Saturday and signed the petition on behalf of Oyebamiji.
According to him, Adereti signed the document in the presence of APC leaders and executives who were at the tribunal during the filing.
His account contradicts the earlier position of the APC legal team led by Layonu, which had publicly rejected the petition and maintained that the party is not challenging Adeleke’s victory.
The controversy erupted after the tribunal displayed notices of two petitions on Monday.
The Layonu-led APC legal team had earlier said it was not responsible for the petition attributed to the party and Oyebamiji.
The team maintained that it had advised the APC and its candidate not to challenge the election after reviewing the results and identifying possible grounds for litigation.
According to the legal team, the decision was taken deliberately in the interest of peace and political stability in Osun State.
The lawyers also pointed to Oyebamiji’s decision to congratulate Adeleke after the election as evidence that the APC candidate had accepted the outcome.