2022 Osun LG Elections: Stalemate Looms As OSIEC, APC, Others Disagree On Interpretation Of Appeal Court Ruling

Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC), the state PDP, the state APC, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Bayo Adeleke and others disagreed sharply on how to interpret the ruling that was delivered by judges of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division on Monday.

 The court ruling was on the outcome of the  local government elections conducted by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC)  on October 15, 2022.

Recall that Justice Ayo-Nathaniel Emmanuel  of the Federal High Court ,  Osogbo,  had on November 26, 2022, declared the local government elections in question as illegal, null and void, adding that it was not conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act of 2022.

The sacked LG chairmen had however filed an appeal and the ruling was delivered on Monday while its interpretation had since become a hotly debated topic and a subject of discussion among residents of the state.

Local government elections will hold in the state on February 22,2025.

Many feared that a tense situation may  exist today , Tuesday, February 11, 2025, as the  LG chairmen ,who had left office since November 2022 sequel to the Federal High Court ruling, may seek to return to office.

 Some others have adopted a wait-and-see approach.

Osun State APC Legal Adviser, Barrister Adegoke Ogunsola  in a statement he issued in Osogbo and made available to Team@orientactualmags.com argued that the planned  Local Government Elections can no longer be held in view of the ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal on Monday.

 Ogunsola urged the OSIEC Chairman, Barrister Hashim Abioye to refrain from any act capable of undermining the integrity and sanctity of the judiciary.

He warned  Barrister Abioye and PDP leaders in the state to tread cautiously submitting that the judgment was clear enough for the blind to read and the deaf to hear.

He accused the OSIEC Chairman,  Mr  Hashim Abioye of deliberately  misrepresenting the purport and import of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the appeal with respect to the Local Government Chairmen and Councilors that were sacked in 2022. 

‘This is far from the truth as the Court of Appeal in an unmistakable language nullified the decision of the Federal High Court that had wrongly removed the elected Local Government Chairmen and Councilors from office. 

With the decision of the Court of Appeal, the terms of office of the Local Government Chairmen and Councilors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress in 2022 are still extant and have not expired. 

In the circumstance, no Local Government elections can be held by the compromised OSIEC in February 2025 to overreach the decision of the Court of Appeal and the preserved terms of the oppressed, denied and victimized Local Government Chairmen and Councilors who were duly elected in 2022. 

We urge members of the public to ignore the verbal leakages of Mr. Abioye and respect the sanctity of the court of law, the laws of the land and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’ Ogunsola  said.

In separate statement issued by the state APC Chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal which was made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the state APC hailed the Court of Appeal’s judgment and lauded the Justices for what the party called ‘a sound verdict’, describing this as a welcome development that has further proven the ‘power of light over darkness’. 

The party specifically acknowledged the tremendous contributions of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy,  Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, ‘who has been unilaterally financing the party particularly most of its legal battles’.

The party also described the ruling delivered by the Appeal Court judges as ‘voice populi voice dei’.

The state APC noted that the judgment has given the legal backing to the reinstated council officials to return to office with immediate effect.

In a telephone interview with Team@orientactualmags.com late Monday night, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Bayo Adeleke aka ‘Banik’ , submitted that there is no ambiguity in respect of the ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal judges .

He urged the Governor Ademola Adeleke administration to obey court orders, respect rule of law and do the right thing noting that as the Chief Security Officer of the state, the governor is expected to provide security for the elected local government chairmen and ensure that they return to office without any hindrance.

 He asserted that in the eyes of the law, the elected local government chairmen are still the only recognized local government leaders until there is a stay of execution or a contrary ruling by the nation’s apex court.

Prince Bayo Adeleke added that APC is a law-abiding party and will therefore follow due process in everything it does.

He however asked those who may have been of a considered opinion that the tenure of the chairmen will end in October this year and that the ruling will be of no consequence to remember what happened in Anambra State in 2007.

‘Yes, their tenure will end in October this year, we thank the judiciary for righting the wrong and we know that there are other things that they will help us to correct.

Don’t forget that Dr Chris Ngige was the governor of Anambra State, and when the Court of Appeal sacked him and declared Mr Peter Obi the real winner of the election on March 16, 2006, a gubernatorial election was held in the state in April 2007, and Andy Uba was declared winner by INEC and he was sworn in on May 29, 2007 but Mr Peter Obi filed a suit to demand that he should be allowed to complete his term saying there was no need for an election since the position was not vacant ab initio the Supreme Court eventually sacked Uba on June 14, 2007, and Obi returned to power  after 16 days.

I want our people to learn lessons from the past’ he added.

Chairman of  Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), Barrister Abioye Hashim however presided over a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Osogbo on Monday during which he explained that the ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal has not in any way affected the local government elections scheduled to hold on February 22, 2025.

‘I have called for this press briefing sequel to a development that has to do with the 2025 Osun State local government elections process. Today, the Court of Appeal struck out the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the conduct of Osun State local government elections in 2022. 

The reasoning of the Appellate Court was that the suit was filed before the Notice of election was issued by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC). It must be noted that it was during the pendency of the said suit before the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo in FHC/OS/CS/94/2022 that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) Law 2022 was enacted and the notice of election was issued. 

The Claimant in the case amended the originating summons to bring the suit in line with the developments which occurred during the pendency of the suit. The Federal High Court delivered its judgment in the suit on the 25th November, 2022, nullifying the LG elections and sacking the purported elected officials. 

The affected political party, All Progressive Congress (APC) and their purported candidates for the LG elections appealed the judgment, and today the Court of Appeal delivered a judgment in the appeal striking out the suit for being speculative. No more to that at the Court of Appeal.

However, by another judgment of the Federal High Court in suit No.: APP .v. INEC & ORS, the Federal High Court in a judgment delivered on 30th November, 2022 nullified the LG elections and sacked the purported elected officials. The All Progressive Congress (APC), Allied People Movement (APM) and 1 other person appealed the judgment but later abandoned the appeal and the same was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on the 13th January, 2025.

To this effect, there is no order returning any purported elected officials of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to office as there is no Order of any Court reinstating them. In particular, there is no Order of any Court stopping the conduct of the LG  elections already scheduled by the Commission to hold on 22nd February, 2025.

In specific terms, the thirty (30) Local Government Areas in Osun State remain vacant to date as there is a subsisting  decision of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal against the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its purported candidates’ he submitted while urging members of the public to remain calm and asking candidates of political parties already on campaign trail to stay the course as ‘all is set for the LG elections  to hold’.

Osun State PDP in a statement issued in Osogbo and made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by its State Chairman, Chief Sunday Bisi also urged the people of  the state to stay calm while denouncing  insinuations by ‘the rudderless opposition’ that ‘the appellate Court has stopped the conduct of the February 22, 2025 local government elections’.

Hon Sunday Bisi assured that the party has activated its legal department to swing into action to appeal the judgment at the apex court, in defence of democracy and the good people of Osun State.

The PDP further noted that nothing has changed in respect of the ongoing preparations for the forthcoming local government elections calling it ‘the only panacea for meeting the yearnings of the people in the rural communities’.

The party urged the people of the state to challenge and stop the APC from destroying the state as ‘they had attempted after their woeful loss in the July 16, 2022 gubernatorial election’.

 ‘It is time to read into the destructive antics of the APC, whose main objective is to corner the state for their selfish intentions’ the statement added.

The current mood of the state was shown through the verbal crossfire that continued on Tuesday morning.

Osun State APC in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com submitted that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Right Honourable Adewale Egbedun had wrongly accused Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola , the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, of using his position to cause crisis in the state.

‘The same speaker was comfortable when the executive arm of the government under Governor Ademola Adeleke was busy violating all sets of laws.

 The APC which was the recipient of all these illegalities of the government was not  violent or lawless but rather chose the path of the law and civilized means of seeking redress by approaching the court. 

The APC lost at times and won at times and the last victory based on the well considered verdict of the Appeal Court seems to have gone beyond simple understanding of the Speaker thus he resorted to insulting the Honourable Minister for being very peaceful and law-abiding’ the party added.

APC also urged the ruling party to respect the rule of law, fairness and justice by ‘holistically observing every letter of the Court of Appeal judgment and other dictates of the laws’.

‘Why is it that it is only when  Osun  State PDP is victorious in any matter that it will occur to its leadership that justice has been done and when it goes against them, ranting would become their sing-song?’ the party asked.

In a statement issued on Tuesday morning which was made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by its State Chairman, Chief Sunday Bisi, Osun State PDP accused the state APC of misleading the public and instigating unrest in the state through the misinterpretation of court judgments while urging the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun to take a decisive action against the party leaders.

 PDP described what it called ‘APC’s latest antics’ as an open display of political irresponsibility and a deliberate ploy to create unnecessary chaos in the state.  

‘It is quite disheartening to see how politics has become an avenue to display the highest level of illiteracy among the opposition party. Even in Student Union elections, the kind of ‘Yes or No’ electoral fraud orchestrated by the APC cannot stand, as the law is direct about its conduct’ PDP submitted while  adding  that the APC’s desperation has reached new heights, as ‘it seeks to manipulate legal outcomes to suit its selfish interests’.  

The statement also warned the APC against further attempts to disrupt the peace of the state, noting that any attempt to incite violence would be met with the full force of the law.

‘If the APC thinks it can turn Osun into a state of anarchy, they are mistaken. We call on security agencies to closely monitor their activities and ensure that law and order prevail’ the statement said-  Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you