𝗢𝘀𝘂𝗻 𝗟𝗚 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀

The current controversy over the control for power and governance at the Local Government level in Osun State, took a different dimension on Thursday, with an open letter by eight of the nine federal lawmakers from the state to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, inviting him to intervene over what they call the “continuous withholding of the local government allocation to the 30 Local Government councils of Osun State.” All the eight lawmakers are of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) extraction.

But in a swift reaction, the only All Progressives Congress (APC) federal lawmaker, Honourable Wole Oke, accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State of an attempt to blackmail the president, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Osun State APC leader and Marine and Blue Economy minister, Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, insisting that it is the Osun Government that is “inflicting pains on us the beneficiaries of Local Government Administration in Osun State by not doing the right thing.”

Daily Sun investigations revealed that the incumbent is not the first Osun Governor to inherit elected council chairmen and councillors who belong to a different political party.

For instance, analysts recall that when Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola took over in 2010 as the governor, PDP elected Local Government officials were in place. Interestingly, the defunct Action Congress (AC), had challenged the conduct of the election, the same way the PDP had challenged the one conducted in 2022 by the Oyetola-led administration. While the Aregbesola-led administration did not dissolve the council, and instead allowed the case to run its full course, the Adeleke-led administration, on the other hand, sacked the APC-elected council chairmen and councillors through an Executive Order immediately after taking office. It is also worth noting that, prior to the issuance of Adeleke’s Executive Order, a Federal High Court in Osun had nullified the said election.

Not satisfied with the verdict of the court, the APC approached the Court of Appeal for a redress, even as they resigned to fate as they were not allowed access to the councils. In the appeal, the APC prayed the court to grant the following reliefs: “an Order allowing this appeal, an Order setting aside the ruling delivered by the Lower Court on 15th September, 2022 and dismissing the 1st Respondent’s Motion on Notice to amend dated 29th August, 2022 (but filed on 2nd September, 2022), an Order granting the Appellants’ Motion on Notice to dismiss suit dated 28th October, 2022, an Order setting aside and nullifying the judgment of the lower court delivered on 25th November, 2022, an Order invoking Section 16 of the Court of Appeal Act to determine the suit of the 1st Respondent on the basis of the Originating Summons dated 27th July, 2022, an Order dismissing Suit No: FHC/OS/CS/94/2022, an Order restoring the Appellants back into their offices having been duly elected by the citizens of Osun State, and (any) such further or other Orders as this Honourable Court may make in the circumstances of this appeal.”

All the reliefs sought, particularly an Order “restoring the Appellants back into their offices having been duly elected by the citizens of Osun State,” were all granted by the Appeal Court. However, the PDP argued that the judgment did not contain any provision reinstating the sacked council chairmen and councillors. But upon reviewing the Certified True Copy of the judgment, the Attorney-General of the Federation and security agencies advised the state government to comply with the ruling and refrain from actions that could circumvent it. Rather than adhere to this counsel, the state government, acting through Osun PDP, approached a state High Court to secure an order permitting the conduct of a new local government poll. That election was widely described by observers as a “sham and charade.”

Despite the conduct of the election, the APC council chairmen and councillors still call the shots, while those sworn-in by the governor operate from hideouts. However, most of the local government staff, acting on the orders of the state government, have refused to resume work.

Last week, the Court of Appeal delivered another ruling, which the PDP claimed strengthened their position that the APC council officials remain lawfully sacked. On the other hand, the APC hold that the same judgment further affirmed the legitimacy of its council officials as the rightful officeholders.

The court had last week held among other things that “And the judgment of the Federal High Court, in Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/94/2022 which nullified the said election, the 1st Appellant in the aforesaid appeal is the same Appellant/Applicant in the instant application under consideration, I draw attention to this fact in order to show that the 3rd Appellant/Applicant who was pursuing the sister appeal based on the same fact and similar judgment of the same judex – Ayo Emmanuel J, cannot claim ignorance for not compiling the record of appeal or have any credible reason for abandoning the pursuit of this appeal that was dismissed on 13th January, 2025, the sudden attempt to resurrect this appeal into the decision of this court in the sister appeal will only lead to confusion and this court will resist such attempt to lure it to unwittingly sit on appeal or review its decision in Appeal No: CA/AK/270/2022.”

emoluments for the three years. Mr. Governor, please bear in mind that both APC and PDP members are all citizens of Osun State and you owe us a duty of care. I come in peace,” the lawmaker added.

As the legal battles and political arguments continue to unfold, one thing remains clear: local governance that is meant to be the closest and most responsive tier to the people, is now entangled in a web of avoidable brickbats. Certainly, the people of Osun State are not interested in prolonged executive power plays. What they want is accountable leadership, transparency, and functional local councils that deliver the true dividends of democracy.

By: Ismail Omipidan, Abuja