Governor Adeleke insists Oyetola behind LG crisis in Osun
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has insisted that former governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, is responsible for the ongoing paralysis of local governments in the state.
Adeleke, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, accused the minister of being the chief architect of the paralysis and the untold hardship being inflicted on the people of Osun.
He reiterated that the tenure of the APC local government chairmen lapsed in 2025 and cannot be legally extended under the law or Supreme Court rulings, warning that continued obstruction of council operations is unlawful.
The governor stated that it was the Federal High Court, and not him, that sacked the APC chairmen in 2022, adding that the judgment was later validated by the Court of Appeal, which also acknowledged that newly elected chairmen and councillors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had already been sworn into office.
Adeleke said the APC chairmen were removed by the court because their election, conducted under Oyetola, allegedly violated the Electoral Act, which stipulates a one-year notice before conducting local government elections.
He condemned the minister’s denial of the paralysis of local governments in the state, describing it as an insult to Osun traditional rulers whose salaries could not be paid, and a denigration of local government workers who survive only on salaries without allowances.
The governor further described as an attempt to escape reality the minister’s denial that the tenure of the APC chairmen had lapsed, questioning the legal basis for the belief that being in court was sufficient to continue in office and to tamper with public funds through the back door.
Adeleke called on Oyetola to lift the siege on local government secretariats, remove the APC chairmen, stop issuing what he described as illegal directives to the police, allow council operations and local government workers to function freely, and refrain from dragging President Bola Tinubu’s name into the controversy.
