Ahead of next week’s controversial local government election in Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke has raised the alarm over reports of a ‘sinister’ plot by elements within the opposition parties to launch vicious attacks on council secretariats across the state including orchestrated onslaught on leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and top government officials.
OSUN DEFENDER had reported the back and forth between members of the ruling party and those of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) on the legality of the February 22, 2025 election, as well as skirmishes between both camps in the ongoing campaigns.
Recall that the election has also been a subject of controversy following the confusion generated by Monday’s judgement of the Court of Appeal in Akure which reportedly reinstated the sacked Yes or No Chairmen elected under the administration of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
The development raised concerns about the certainty of the forthcoming election, with tongues wagging from different camps. While the APC has expressed interest in the election, recent statements by the two leading political parties have heated up the polity, stoking tension on the peaceful conduct of the polls.
Reacting to the political situation of the state in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Governor Adeleke said that the agenda is designed to disrupt the forthcoming local government elections and create an atmosphere of chaos to push for the declaration of a state of emergency.
The statement said, “The Governor who described Osun as one of the most peaceful states in the federation decried the reprehensible desperation among the opposition politicians especially of the All Progressive Congress which is manifesting in their concoction of fake court rulings, deliberate fabrication of fake news and condemnable building of false narratives instead of facing the electorate on February 22nd.
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“According to the State Governor, there is a subsisting court judgement secured by the APP which nullified the kangaroo local government election held in 2022, declaring that the judgement remains valid in law and reality.
“The statement affirmed that the judgement of a Court of Appeal in Akure was about the filing of court processes by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has nothing to do with the subsisting judgement that sacked the illegally elected council chairmen and councilors of the APC.
“I have issued stern directives to the security agencies to secure the state and apprehend any trouble maker. There is no legal basis for any plot to take over the local government system in Osun state. Elections to fill the offices of chairmen and councilors are scheduled for February 22nd.
“Anybody who tests our resolve to sustain law and order in Osun state will have himself to blame. As the Chief Security Officer for the state, I am determined to deploy all available machinery of the state to maintain peace and punish trouble makers.
“I also call on citizens and residents of the state to go about their normal activities without fear or intimidation. The government is on top of the situation. We are resolved to keep the state and the streets safe from anti-democratic elements”, the Governor was quoted as saying.
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
