The Osun State Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are at loggerheads over the Appeal Court’s judgment regarding the 2022 local government elections.
The APC claims the judgment reinstates the 2022 elected local government chairmen, while the state government disputes this, saying the Appeal Court did not return the APC-elected chairmen to office.
Members of the APC in Osun State have been celebrating the judgment which returned the 2022 elected local government chairmen.
However, the state government dismissed APC’s claim.
A statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, explains that the Appeal court did not return the APC elected chairmen, adding that the only valid judgment subsisting is the order of the court which nullified the election conducted.
The statement urged security agencies to tell with anyone who wants to cause problem in the state.
The statement read, “The attention of the Osun State Government has been drawn to the judgment of the Court of Appeal, delivered today, Monday, 10th of February,2025 wherein the originating summons filed by the PDP to challenge the validity of the election held on 15th of October 2022 was dismissed on the ground that the notice of the election had not been published by OSSIEC before the suit was filed.
“The simple implication of today’s judgment is that the PDP never filed any case to challenge the validity of that election.
“However, there’s another suit filed by the Action Peoples Party (APP) against INEC, OSSIEC, APM Babarinde Nurudeen Idowu, APGA, APC, and Prince Gboyega Famodum which challenged the validity of the local government election held on the 15th of October,2022.
“In its judgment in the Suit No FHC/OS/CS/103/22, the Federal High Court nullified the local govt election conducted by OSSIEC on 15th of Oct.2022 and made the following clear and positive consequential orders:
“The election into the LG councils across Osun State held on 15th October 2022 pursuant to notice of election issued on the 15/8/2022 is hereby declared unconstitutional, invalid, null and void for violation of the constitution and breach of sections 28,29,32,98 and 150 of Electoral Act 2022.
“All persons or individuals occupying offices in the state local government councils by virtue of the said election are accordingly sacked from holding such offices;
“Sections 25 and 26 of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission Law 2022 having been enacted in contravention of paragraph 12 of part II, second schedule to the Constitution and being inconsistent with sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act 2022 are hereby struck down.
“The judgment above, which was delivered by the Federal High Court on 30th day of November 2022 by Hon.Justice N.Ayo Emmanuel of the Osogbo Federal High Court was appealed against with the Appeal No CA/AK/226M/2024. and the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in the ruling delivered on 13th January, 2025.
“Considering the above positions, the only valid judgment subsisting as at today is the order of the court which nullified the election conducted as enunciated above.
“Therefore, we need to inform the entire citizens of Osun State, most especially, the Security Operatives and Heads of Local Government Administrations( HLA’s) to take note of the fact that, there is no judgment restoring the Yes and No Local Government Chairmen into the various Local Government Councils in Osun.
“We urged security operatives to arrest and prosecute anybody, no matter how highly placed, who may want to disrupt the current peace being enjoyed in our dear state.”
Meanwhile, the legal adviser to Osun APC, Adegoke Ogunsola, while responding said no local government election can be held in the state, adding that the decision of the Court of Appeal has affirmed that 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.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a miscarriage issued by Mr. Hashim Abioye, the purported Chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission which has been captured by the People’s Democratic Party government in Osun State.
“In the said miscarriage of Mr Abioye, he deliberately set out to misrepresent the purport and import of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the appeal decided today, the 10th day of February 2025 as if the said decision did not reinstate the wrongly sacked APC Local Government Chairmen and Councilors.
“This is far from the truth as the Court of Appeal in unmistakable language nullified the decision of the Federal High Court which 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 election 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”.
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