Osun LG Crisis: How PDP played into the hands of APC (Part 3)

By Ismail Omipidan 

This particularly piece, is deliberately not going to be a long one. It is a follow-up to the part One and Two that I shared last year. This very intervention is necessited by my appearance as a Public Affairs Analyst on News Central TV last night , where i discussed the same subject matter. It also forms part of my continued effort to contribute meaningfully to political discourse by promoting accurate information and countering the spread of unverified claims, half-truths, and propaganda.

For clarity, I have presented my submissions in bullet points, titled “15 Points to Know on the Osun Local Government Crisis.” Here are the points: 

1. Governor Ademola Adeleke lied when he claimed he did not sack the council chairmen and councillors he met when he assumed office.  

2. On the 28th of November,  2022, barely 24 hours after his swearing-in, his CPS, Mr. Olawale Rasheed, issued a statement directing the most senior career heads across all the local government areas and local council development areas in the state to take charge of the affairs of their respective councils, with the governor maintaining that the directive, which is with immediate effect, was in compliance with the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo that "sacked the purportedly elected local government Chairmen and Councilors."

3. I make bold to state that the Federal High Court is neither the fit nor proper court to adjudicate on this matter. However, even assuming, without conceding, that it has the requisite jurisdiction, it is not the final court on the matter.

4. The first judgment in this matter was obtained by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on November 25, 2022. Ordinarily, by virtue of Section 138(1) of the Electoral Act, and notwithstanding the purported sacking of the council officials by the Federal High Court, they are entitled to continue to enjoy the benefits of office until the matter is finally determined by the court of last resort.

5. On November 30th 2022,  the same Federal High Court, in another matter filed by the APP, also ordered the sacking of the council chairmen and councillors.  By implication, therefore, the state Governor took the decision to dissolve and sack the council officials before the APP judgment. 

6. The All Progressives Congress (APC) appealed both judgments but later decided to pursue only the PDP judgment. Notwithstanding, on August 16, 2023, Governor Ademola Adeleke inaugurated caretaker committee chairmen for all the councils. The APC went to court to challenge this action, and following the Federal Government’s decision not to release statutory allocations to councils without democratically elected chairmen and councillors, the governor beat a retreat and eventually dissolved the caretaker committees.

7. In the appeal filed by the APC, the party 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.”

8. And on February 10, 2025, 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, as the court pronouncement was that "this appeal is meritorious and is hereby allowed."

9. Immediately after this ruling, the PDP began to claim that there was another APP judgment which had scaked the chairmen and councillors on November 30, 2022. Apparently, to put the matter to rest finally, the APC returned to the Appeal Court, seeking to relist the APP appeal. 

10. In deciding on the APP's appeal, the court 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.”

Ironically, the Appeal No. CA/AK/270/2022, being referenced above is the February 10, 2025 judgment of the Appeal Court, which reinstated the APC council officials. 

11. By implication, the court believed that since the two cases are similar and judgement had been delivered on one, to relist the APP judgment which had also nullified the election, would lead to confusion and a review of the court’s February 10 decision, which reinstated the sacked officials, a venture the court was unwilling to take.

12. The June 13, 2025  judgment that the PDP and their collaborators are referencing, particularly the lead judgment by His Lordship Peter Chudi Obiorah, JCA,  is what I dealt with in Points 10 and 11.

13. While I agree with the PDP and their collaborators that it is true that the concurring judgment by Her Lordship Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, JCA, claimed that February 10th judgement was a dismissal of the appeal and even went ahead to make comment on the kangaroo election conducted by the State Government on February 22, 2025, which was never an issue before the court at this instance, Her Lordship remarks amount to obiter dictum (that is, judicial comments made in passing and not essential to the determination of the case). Consequently, they cannot take precedence over the lead judgment. This is a settled principle of law.

14. There is no part of the February 10 judgment that purportedly dismissed the appeal. 

15. The APC may have deliberately went for the relisting of the APP appeal to deal a serious blow on the PDP, knowing full well that it would suffer no collateral damage from the outcome. Judging by the manner in which the PDP and their collaborators are now running from pillar to post, it is safe to say that the APC appears to have achieved its objective.

I rest my case for now!