Stand-Off Over Control Of LGs: Gov Adeleke Planning To Secure ‘Potentially Explosive’ Court Ruling-Osun APC
Osun State APC on Sunday raised the alarm and alleged that Governor Ademola Adeleke administration is planning to secure a judgment from the State High Court, Ikirun that will create a platform to launch ‘another round of a massive attack’ on the 2022 local government chairmen and councilors who are members of the party and are currently in charge of local government secretariats in the state.
This, the party added, will subject the state to another round of anarchy.
A statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com noted that former state Commissioner for Information, Hon Sunday Akere, who said this on behalf of the party during the press conference he presided over at the Ilerioluwa Campaign Office, Ogo-Oluwa, Osogbo on Sunday, alleged that the state government has concluded an arrangement to procure the ‘kangaroo judgment’ from the court that will be presided over by Justice I. O. Adeleke of High Court, Ikirun on the 17th of April, 2025, with a view to perverting the cause of justice and bringing the 2025 chairmen who are members of PDP, to the local governments through the backdoor.
The party noted that it has reliably gathered that it is the order of mandamus from the High Court judge in Ikirun that Governor Adeleke is banking on to bring the ‘illegally-selected chairmen of the PDP to the councils with the aid of Amotekun Corps and thugs by all means without reflecting on the consequences of his action to security of lives and property’.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to resisting any illegal means capable of causing political unrest and undermining the security and sanctity of the judiciary in the state saying: ‘Adeleke’s executive recklessness, security compromise, abuse of power and judicial integrity will be resisted without apology’.
Osun State APC has also sought immediate intervention of the Inspector General of Police, Director-General, Department of State Services -DSS and Office of the National Security Adviser over the impending crisis in the state.
The party lampooned Adeleke for resorting to ‘self- help instead of threading the path of the rule of law and respecting judicial authority by obeying the judgment of the Court of Appeal or at most approach the Supreme Court’, submitting that his fresh move is capable of subjecting the state to anarchy and threat to the lives of innocent citizens.
The party accused the Adeleke administration of grounding local government activities by financially inducing the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) leaders to illegally withdraw the services of the state local government workers at the Local Government Secretariats which has invariably denied the people of the state essential services being provided by the local government councils in all the 30 local government council areas and the Area Office, Modakeke in the last two months.
‘It is on that 17th day of April, 2025 procured kangaroo ruling that the council workers who have abandoned their jobs for over two months intend to go back to work.
The procured judgment is, to among other things violently chase away the reinstated local government chairmen out of the local government council secretariats against the judgment of the Appeal Court by contemporaneously enlisting the services of Amotekun Corps to violently attack and chase away our elected chairmen from the local government secretariats across the state.
The procured judgment from the pliable High Court judge in Ikirun will also direct the Chairmen and Councilors who participated in the illegal local government elections purportedly conducted by the partisan Abioye Hasim-led Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) on February 22, 2025, in the state to resume work with the primary intention of unleashing terror on our local government chairmen and councilors who have resumed duty in their respective local government secretariats’ the party said..
APC noted that another case is also before Justice Yinka Aderibigbe of the state High Court, Ilesa which is also designed to create pandemonium in the state.
‘Information also has it that there are plans to massively mobilize thugs within and outside the state to be armed and clothed in Amotekun Corps uniforms in order to carry out orchestrated attacks on our chairmen and burn down local government secretariats and deceitfully hang the crimes on the neck of the Court of Appeal reinstated local government chairmen and councillors in the state.
It would be recalled that it was the same manner that the PDP obtained a fraudulent judgment to illegally conduct purported elections to the local government offices that were not vacant on February 22, 2025 from Ilesa High Court. The state government and the PDP instead of approaching the Supreme Court to appeal the 10th February, 2025 Court of Appeal judgment for further appeal at the Supreme Court have strangely resorted to forum shopping from various high courts’ the statement added.
APC has urged Osun State judiciary to be wary of the PDP desperation not to drag the judiciary through the mud via procurement of ‘black market judgment and injunctions from the state high courts capable of rocking the peace of the state’.
‘It is a clear principle in elementary law that a lower court cannot assume jurisdiction on a matter already settled by a higher court especially the Appeal Court in this circumstance.
This attempt is an effort to create constitutional crisis and subsequently throw the state into avoidable crisis. If the PDP and the Adeleke-led administration considered the Appeal Court judgment unacceptable, they are free to approach the Supreme Court as the last resort instead of laying a foundation for creating crisis in the state.
The joker the Governor Adeleke-led government is banking on is to engage in a judicial coup by procuring mandamus order for the illegal local government council chairmen and councilors from the pliable High Court judge in Ikirun on the 17th day of April, 2025.
The illegal local council chairmen and councillors who have been staying away from the councils would seek the mandamus order from the High Court against Governor Adeleke who subsequently would not object but rather prevail on the already stationed Amotekun Corps with daredevil thugs to invade the council Secretariats across the state with maximum force.
In the arrangements made by Governor Adeleke and his co-travellers, it is the illegally-elected council chairmen and councilors who the council workers who have been staying away from the council Secretariats would accompany to the respective council secretariats which would lead to pandemonium and chaos across the state.
The previous similar judgment has forced our party to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC) on the judicial rascality being encouraged by the Governor Adeleke-led administration and we shall not hesitate to lodge another complaint whenever we notice any form of judicial abuse and compromise over the local government administration in Osun State as it is axiomatic that the judiciary is the last hope of a common man and if it is allowed to be consistently abused as it is being currently encouraged by the Osun State government under Governor Adeleke, then our democracy is in a serious danger’ 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.
