A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Kunle Adegoke, has said the withdrawal of petitions challenging the 2026 Osun State governorship election will help preserve peace and reduce the financial burden associated with prolonged election litigation.
Adegoke said continuing the legal battle could keep the state in political uncertainty, distract the government from governance and heighten tensions among supporters of rival political parties.
He spoke on Thursday during an appearance on a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu, while discussing the implications of the withdrawal of petitions challenging Governor Ademola Adeleke’s victory in the August 15 governorship election.
According to the legal practitioner, taking an election dispute to the tribunal can place an entire state under tension because uncertainty over the outcome may affect both the government and residents.
He said an elected governor facing prolonged litigation could become preoccupied with the legal battle instead of concentrating fully on governance.
“When you go to the tribunal to challenge the result of an election, the entire state will be on the edge,” Adegoke said.
“You will discover that everybody, not only the elected governor or whomsoever, will be so shifty in terms of performance and what have you, because it doesn’t allow such an elected person to concentrate on the business of governance.”
Adegoke added that ordinary citizens were also affected by prolonged election disputes, as they would remain anxious while awaiting the outcome of the judicial process.
He warned that the uncertainty could create an opportunity for violent elements to exploit political divisions and attack supporters of opposing parties.
“The same thing happens to the mass of the people who participated in the election. Everybody will be eager, will be pensive, expecting what will be the outcome of the tribunal,” he said.
“And you discover that violent elements will take that opportunity to attack one another, killing people, maiming.”
The SAN recalled previous election disputes in Osun State, saying prolonged litigation had in the past been accompanied by violence and destruction of property.
He urged political actors to learn from those experiences and avoid prolonging electoral disputes when there was an opportunity to prevent further tension and allow the state to focus on governance.
Adegoke also stressed that the consequences of political violence often extend beyond politicians, with ordinary citizens bearing much of the human and economic cost.
“The people that are being killed, the majority of them are poor people. So who did not have any grievance against one another until this political something came up?” he asked.
He further argued that withdrawing the petitions could save public resources that would otherwise be spent on sustaining prolonged electoral litigation.
“Rather than even using taxpayers’ money, because for the tribunal to be maintained, for the process to go smoothly and what have you, it costs the government a lot of money. So we can avoid all this. You know, the economy has not been good enough,” he stated.
The SAN maintained that public funds should not be unnecessarily committed to managing the consequences of political disputes when political actors have the option of pursuing a peaceful resolution.
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