The member representing Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Oluwole Oke, has appealed to Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to halt what he described as unwarranted blackmail against President Bola Tinubu, former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Oke accused the Adeleke-led administration of compounding hardship for beneficiaries of local government administration by allegedly refusing to comply with a valid Court of Appeal judgment that reinstated elected All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen, vice-chairmen, and councillors.
Oke, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain who recently parted ways with the party, claimed that Governor Adeleke’s legal advisers had misled him on the ruling delivered by the Appeal Court.
“I spoke to you and advised you on what to do concerning the Court of Appeal judgment reinstating elected APC council officials, but you ignored me. Only an illiterate lawyer will advise you contrary to what the Court of Appeal ruled—that the PDP/OSSIEC approached the wrong court,” Oke said.
He insisted that the time for the state to file for a stay of execution or appeal the judgment has elapsed, and noted that the APC would not assist the government in pursuing the matter further.
Oke therefore called on Adeleke to direct members of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to resume work and cooperate with the reinstated APC officials until the expiration of their tenure.
He also advised the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to either conduct fresh local government elections within 180 days or compensate the APC officials for the remainder of their three-year term.
Expressing sympathy for PDP chairmanship aspirants who allegedly spent heavily on the aborted local government elections, Oke urged Governor Adeleke to consider appointing them as Special Assistants (SAs) or Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) as a form of relief.
Meanwhile, the Osun State House of Assembly has warned that any attempt to disburse local government funds into private individuals’ accounts would constitute a breach of due process and attract serious legal consequences.
Speaker Adewale Egbedun, who issued the warning, cautioned the CBN against proceeding with any such disbursement. He stressed that, as stipulated in the Nigerian Constitution, only the Director of Finance and Director of Administration and General Services are recognized as signatories to local government accounts.
Lawmakers also lamented the prevailing uncertainty in local government administration and raised concerns over alleged armed individuals attempting to take over council offices in violation of existing laws.
They cited the Federal High Court ruling in Osogbo and the Appeal Court judgment in Akure which declared the local government election held on October 15, 2022, as null and void, adding that OSSIEC had withdrawn the Certificates of Return issued after the poll.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, through its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, faulted the Osun PDP caucus in the House of Representatives for interfering in the matter.
Olabisi accused the PDP lawmakers of failing to account for their constituency funds and reaffirmed that the February 10, 2025 Appeal Court ruling reinstating APC council officials remained valid and enforceable.
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