A prominent All Progressives Congress leader in Osun State, Mr. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene in the brewing crisis following the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling on the state’s local government elections.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday in Osogbo, Oyintiloye warned that the judgment by the Akure Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday is generating tension in the state.
He clarified that while the court dismissed the APC’s request to relist its appeal against the 2022 Federal High Court ruling that nullified the council polls, it did not overturn the February 10 judgment that reinstated the elected chairmen and councillors.
Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, expressed concern over the interpretation of the ruling by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the state government, cautioning that it could lead to unrest across the 30 local government areas.
“The crisis is obvious because the elected APC chairmen and councillors would resist any unlawful invasion of the council secretariats, which they are currently occupying,” Oyintiloye said.
He urged Tinubu to deploy additional security personnel to prevent a repeat of the February 17 violence, which resulted in loss of lives.
“We don’t want any bloodshed in the state again, and that is why I am calling on the President to intervene swiftly to avoid loss of lives,” he said. “The open declaration by PDP members to invade the council secretariats in the state on Monday can lead to mayhem, and that is not what we need at the moment.”
Oyintiloye criticized the state government’s stance, stating, “The state government and the PDP must be cautioned against causing a crisis in the state due to wrong interpretation of the court ruling. The verdict of the court on an attempt by the APC to relist the case is very clear, but some people are just hell-bent on causing chaos through misinterpretation of the court ruling.”
He further noted that the Osun government is already challenging at the Supreme Court its inability to access local government allocations, arguing that the administration should await the apex court’s final decision.
The crisis stems from a legal battle over the October 2022 local government election, which was initially nullified by the Federal High Court but later saw the elected officials reinstated. The APC’s appeal was struck out in January for lack of diligent prosecution, and its attempt to relist the case was dismissed on Friday.
While the PDP-led government claims the appellate court’s ruling affirms the nullification of the 2022 election, the APC maintains that the elected officials remain legitimate until the Supreme Court decides otherwise.
