Osun crisis: APP seeks arrest of APC chairmen, councillors
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
The Osun State chapter of the Action Peoples Party (APP) has condemned the alleged resumption of duties by All Progressives Congress (APC) council chairmen and councillors, describing them as “looters and impostors.”
The APP, stating that the actions of the chairmen and councillors are illegal and unconstitutional, called for their immediate arrest and prosecution.
The State Chairman of APP, Mr. Odesola Oluseye Titus, reacting to reports of the takeover of local government councils earlier today, urged security operatives to take action against those involved in the unconstitutional act.
Odesola questioned the legality of the actions, calling them a flagrant disregard for the rule of law and the Nigerian Constitution. He emphasized that the party holds a valid court judgment, delivered on November 30, 2022, which nullified the October 2022 local government elections due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act and Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) guidelines.
According to Odesola, the APP had filed a suit against OSSIEC at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, and the judgment was in favor of the party. The APP chairman explained that the party challenged the 2022 local government elections based on non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act and OSSIEC guidelines.
His words: “Anyone calling themselves elected chairmen or councillors in Osun State today is an impostor. By virtue of the favorable judgment that nullified the October 2022 local government election, the seats of chairmen and councillors across Osun State are deemed vacant. Furthermore, those who appealed the judgment abandoned the appeal, and the Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed it for want of prosecution.
“So, those that went to the council today are looters, and we strongly condemn such illegal actions. We hereby call on security agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute these impostors.”
On claims by the APC chairmen and councillors that the Court of Appeal had overturned the decision of the Federal High Court and allowed them to return to office, Odesola said, “This is a misunderstanding of judicial procedure and the rule of law. Our case against OSSIEC and the conduct of the 2022 local government election is separate from the PDP’s case. While the Appeal Court overturned the PDP’s case, it dismissed the APC’s appeal due to abandonment and lack of prosecution.
“Ask them: Did the Appeal Court reinstate them? The answer is no. The court merely struck out the PDP case for being speculative and declared that it lacked jurisdiction to rule on speculative cases. The court did not rule on the merits of the appeal. Regarding their prayer for reinstatement, the court declared that since it had determined the lack of jurisdiction, it would not consider the issue because it was an academic exercise.”
Odesola continued: “It is established in law, as declared by the Supreme Court in SC/VC/478/2021, that a case on appeal becomes an academic exercise when it brings no benefit to any party or where there is no live issue. So, where did they get their interpretation from? To the best of our knowledge, the PDP case does not exist due to the Appeal Court judgment. But how could anyone claim our judgment has been invalidated? Are we running a banana republic?”
Odesola further stated that the APP has presented its position to OSSIEC and fielded candidates for the upcoming elections to fill the vacant positions across local governments.
“As a major beneficiary of the Federal High Court judgment in suit FHC/OS/CS/103/2022, we are prepared for Saturday’s election and ready to win. Additionally, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), under which we belong, has directed all member parties to proceed with the election,” he concluded.
