APC Chieftain, 3 Others Shot Dead As Stand-Off Over Control Of Osun LGs Reaches ‘Disturbing Level’

The stand-off over the control of local governments in Osun State reached a very disturbing level on Monday .

Hon Remi Abass, who was one of the elected local government chairmen seeking to return to office, was among those who lost their lives at different locations in the state on Monday.

The deceased politician was the chairman of  Irewole Local Government, Ikire until his removal a few weeks later in 2022.

Rather than staying at home and asking ‘political thugs’ to take over the control of the local government secretariat before showing up, Hon Remi Abass demonstrated that he is a real man who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in and he led the team that sought to take over Irewole local government secretariat ,Ikire on Monday but sadly, he died after a brief exchange of gunfire.

Some others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

 Ege and Igara were also reportedly shot dead in Iragbiji  as members of the PDP and APC sought to take control of the local government secretariat in the ancient town.

In Apomu, headquarters of Isokan local government, members of the APC had reportedly arrived at the local government secretariat as early as 6 am and because it is not impregnable, no one could have challenged or stopped them from gaining entry into the premises.

However, when the PDP team arrived, a scuffle ensued and a resident of the town, Hassan Ojo, sustained gunshot wounds while 12 others were also injured.

Recall that Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC), the state PDP, the state APC, and other stakeholders had disagreed sharply on how to interpret the ruling that was delivered by judges of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division last week Monday and a tense situation that had subsequently surfaced still subsists.

 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 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 last week Monday while its interpretation had since become a hotly debated topic and a subject of discussion among residents of the state.

OSIEC plans to conduct Local government elections in the state on February 22,2025.

Osun State APC Legal Adviser, Barrister Adegoke Ogunsola had argued that the planned Local Government Elections can no longer be held in view of the ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal.

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

Chairman of Osun State PDP, Chief Sunday Bisi however urged the people of  the state to stay calm while denouncing  insinuations by the main opposition party that ‘the appellate Court has stopped the conduct of the February 22, 2025 local government elections’ .

Giving its take on the issue, the state APC had 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’.

Chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), Barrister Abioye Hashim, who is at the center of the issue, also presided over a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Osogbo last week 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.

The stand-off over the control of local governments in the state sequel to the Court of Appeal ruling continued on Sunday, February 16, 2025, with Governor Ademola Adeleke condemning ‘in strongest terms’ what he called ‘deliberate plot to create chaos and anarchy in the state’ and he had pointed the finger at his immediate predecessor, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola.

That was not all, he added that the minister is doing this with the support of the state Commissioner of Police, the state Director of DSS and the state Commandant of the Civil Defense Corps.

The state APC had however urged Governor Adeleke to obey the ruling delivered by the judges of Court of Appeal while expressing displeasure over ‘the unruly conduct of the government officials since the court ruling’.

The APC State Chairman, Alhaji Tajudeen Lawal, who presided over the press conference held at the Ilerioluwa Campaign Office, Osogbo, warned Governor Adeleke and his appointees to refrain from any act capable of causing sociopolitical unrest and setting the state on fire as the Appeal Court’s judgment was ‘clear, direct and straightforward’..

Recall that following the simmering tension in the state, the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had on Sunday directed members, who are local government workers, to stay away from local government secretariats across the state.

The local government workers were asked to do this from today, Monday, February 17, 2025, until their safety can be guaranteed, this decision had since been justified sequel to the development recorded on Monday-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