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.”
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.”
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.
By implication, the court believed 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, reinstating the sacked officials, a venture the court was unwilling to take.
Following the refusal of some key local government staff to resume work, the council chairmen decided to appoint new treasurers in order to access council funds and deliver the dividends of democracy to the grassroots. However, this move is being strongly opposed by PDP federal lawmakers, who have now described it as a “seizure” of council funds.
In their open letter to the President, signed by all eight members, the lawmakers stated: “While the appellant pursued one of the Appeals and got a judgement in its favour on the matter of jurisdiction but WITHOUT ANY ORDER REINSTATING the sacked Chairmen, it abandoned the appeal of the second judgement upon which the court dismissed the Appeal and thus upholding the judgement which nullified the September 15th 2022 local Government election.
It may interest your Excellency to note that the Court of Appeal has in a more recent unanimous judgement delivered on Friday 13th of June, 2025, affirmed the sack of those purportedly elected in the disputed 2022 election and berated the APC for sleeping over its appeal for two years and describing the injury of the appellant as self-inflicted.”
But in a swift response, an APC federal lawmaker, Honourable Wole Oke, who until recently was a member of the PDP, said “One of the reasons I left PDP under your (Adeleke) leadership is because you don’t listen to advice. Those people working with you do not mean well for you.
I spoke to you and advise you on what to do on the Court of Appeal Judgement reinstating elected APC Council Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and Councillors but you ignored me. Only an illiterate lawyer will advise you contrary to what the Court of Appeal ruled- that PDP / OSSIEC approached a wrong Court. What else do you need to hear sir?
“The window for you to ask for stay of execution and appeal at the Supreme Court has unfortunately closed perpetually and APC will not help you by going to the Supreme Court on the APP case. What is left for you to do now is to direct the Local Government civil servants (NULGE) to go back to work, embrace the APC elected officials, work together until their tenure ends.
“OSIEC should issue notice of fresh election so that in the next 180 days we shall have another election to elect new Local Government officials and that is if APC elected officials are not asking for completion of their three years mandate. In the alternative they can be paid their 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.
