The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disowned a petition challenging the outcome of the August 15, 2026, Osun State governorship election, insisting that it neither authorised nor endorsed the legal action filed in its name.
The party said the petition, marked EPT/OS/GOV/02/2026, which challenges the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, was instituted without its approval.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Jungudo, disclosed this on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja.
Jungudo said the party had not authorised any legal challenge to the election and that the petition did not represent its position.
“The PDP did not authorise this petition, and it is not our case. The party neither instituted, sponsored, approved, nor endorsed the petition challenging the outcome of the 15th August 2026 Osun State governorship election.”
He explained that the party’s National Legal Adviser was the only official constitutionally empowered to institute or authorise legal proceedings on behalf of the PDP.
Jungudo consequently challenged the lawyer named in the petition, Ochai Jacob Otokpa, to explain the authority under which he filed the case in the party’s name.
“Who instructed him? Who authorised him? And by what authority did he purport to act in the name of the PDP? These are legitimate questions to which the party and the Nigerian public deserve clear answers,” he said.
The PDP also cited an interview granted to TVC on September 7 by the party’s purported candidate in the election, who it said publicly stated that he neither authorised anyone nor engaged a lawyer to file a petition on his behalf.
According to the party, the statement further cast doubt on the source of the mandate behind the petition.
“On whose instruction was the petition filed? Where did Otokpa Jacob Ochai, Esq., get the mandate, the authority to file that petition?” the party queried.
Jungudo said the PDP’s legal department had commenced immediate steps to withdraw the petition or any proceedings arising from it before the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo.
“The PDP does not recognise that election petition before the petition tribunal,” he said.
He urged the tribunal, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Accord Party, Governor Adeleke, the media and members of the public to disregard the petition and its contents.
The party also called on security agencies and other relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the filing of the petition and take appropriate action against Otokpa and anyone else found to have been involved in the alleged unauthorised action.
“The PDP will not sit down and watch how people indiscriminately, continue to bastardise, how people continue to make use of the name of the party for selfish purposes,” Jungudo said.
He added that the PDP would henceforth take decisive action against anyone, “no matter how highly placed,” who made statements or took positions on behalf of the party without proper authorisation.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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