CSOs call for removal of tenure-expired APC officials in Osun
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
A network of civil society groups in Osun State on Monday called for the immediate withdrawal of All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen and councillors from local government council secretariats across the state, saying the officials are occupying the offices illegally after their tenures expired in October 2024.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo, the convener of the group, Comrade Olanrewaju Stephen, said the officials, allegedly backed by police protection, have continued to hold office despite court rulings nullifying their elections.
“Let us assume, without conceding, that the sacked officials had any valid claim; their tenure lawfully expired on 26 October 2024. This fact was expressly confirmed by the Attorney-General of the Federation in filings before the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” he said.
“More instructively, the same court sacked APC chairmen and councillors admitted to the expiration of their tenure when they filed a tenure-elongation suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, in suit number FHC/OS/CS/147/2025 seeking judicial extension of their time in office.”
The coalition described the continued occupation of council secretariats after 26 October 2025 as illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptuous of court, citing Supreme Court rulings that prohibit elected officials or courts from extending tenures.
Stephen urged the Nigeria Police Force to stop protecting tenure-expired officials and demanded that all individuals whose tenure ended in 2025 vacate council secretariats immediately.
He warned that defiance of court judgments threatens democratic governance, the rule of law, and public order in Osun State, stressing that democracy cannot survive where court rulings are ignored.
