Osun PDP petitions foreign embassies over LG crisis

…APC dismisses action as waste of time

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has petitioned western embassies, international rights groups, and foreign missions, accusing the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, of disobeying a Court of Appeal judgment on the state’s local government leadership.

In a statement signed by its chairman, Hon. Sunday Bisi, the PDP alleged that both officials deliberately refused to implement the appellate court’s judgment recognizing PDP-elected chairmen and councillors. The party also accused them of colluding to withhold Osun’s local government allocations for five months while allegedly diverting the funds to APC chairmen.

Bisi claimed that Oyetola leveraged family ties to President Bola Tinubu to influence the alleged illegal action and called on international organizations to impose visa bans and other sanctions on the two ministers. “No individual should be allowed to breach the constitution and due process as Mr. Oyetola and the AGF are doing in Osun State,” he said.

The PDP vowed to persist in its protest, promising to petition organizations such as Transparency International, Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group, and the European Union until the PDP’s elected local officials are allowed to assume office and local allocations are released.

Reacting to the development, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state described the PDP’s claims as false and misleading. The party insisted that the Court of Appeal, in its February 10, 2025 ruling, reinstated APC’s elected chairmen and councillors.

In a statement signed byq its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the APC said, “It is not true that the Osun State local government allocations are being withheld. The claim that two ministers are behind the crisis is a fallacy.”

Olabisi dismissed the petitions to foreign missions and NGOs as futile, arguing that the groups lack jurisdiction in the matter. He said the PDP’s failure to approach the Supreme Court or file necessary legal documents proves it lacks a valid case.

“The diplomatic community and global rights groups respect the rule of law. None would support the disobedience of the Court of Appeal judgment reinstating APC’s leadership, as the PDP and Governor Adeleke are doing by selectively obeying court orders,” the statement added.