Sacked Osun LG officials: APC, state govt disagree over court ruling

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State and the state government have disagreed over the interpretation of the Court of Appeal judgment delivered in Akure, Ondo State, on Monday regarding the sacked local government chairmen and councillors.

The APC, through its Legal Adviser, Barrister Adegoke Ogunsola, stated that the Court of Appeal ruling nullified the Federal High Court’s decision, which had removed the elected local government chairmen and councillors from office.

Ogunsola asserted that the terms of office of the local government chairmen and councillors elected on October 15, 2022, under the APC platform remain valid and have not expired, as per the judgment.

He said:

“Our attention has been drawn to a misleading statement issued by Mr. Hashim Abioye, the purported Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, which has been influenced by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government in Osun State.

“In his statement, Mr. Abioye deliberately misrepresented the intent and impact of the Court of Appeal’s decision delivered today, February 10, 2025, as if it did not reinstate the wrongly sacked APC local government chairmen and councillors.

“This is far from the truth, as the Court of Appeal, in unmistakable terms, nullified the Federal High Court’s decision that wrongly removed the elected local government chairmen and councillors from office.

“With this ruling, the terms of office of the local government chairmen and councillors elected under the APC in 2022 remain valid and have not expired.

“In this situation, no local government election can be conducted by the compromised OSIEC in February 2025 to override the Court of Appeal’s decision and the legitimate tenure of the unlawfully removed local government chairmen and councillors who were duly elected in 2022.”

However, the Osun State Government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, countered APC’s claim, asserting that the Court of Appeal did not reinstate the sacked local government officials.

The government stated that the PDP’s suit challenging the validity of the October 15, 2022, local government election was dismissed due to the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) failing to publish the election notice before the suit was filed.

The statement partly reads:

“The attention of the Osun State Government has been drawn to the judgment of the Court of Appeal, delivered today, Monday, February 10, 2025, wherein the originating summons filed by the PDP to challenge the validity of the election held on October 15, 2022, was dismissed on the grounds that the notice of election had not been published by OSSIEC before the suit was filed.

“Therefore, we must inform the people of Osun State, especially security agencies and heads of local government administrations (HLAs), that no judgment has reinstated the sacked local government chairmen.

“Consequently, we urge security operatives to arrest and prosecute anyone, regardless of status, who attempts to disrupt the peace currently being enjoyed in our state.”