LG Crisis: Osun APC Hails Judge For Withdrawing From Suit, Blasts NULGE
- …Says PDP Using Labour Union To Cripple Grassroots Governance
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has commended Justice Isiaka Adeleke of the Osun State High Court, Ikirun Division, for recusing himself from the controversial suit filed by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) aimed at sacking the recently reinstated APC council chairmen and councillors.
The party described the judge’s decision as a “victory for justice and a safeguard against judicial compromise,” warning the leadership of NULGE against allowing itself to be used as a political pawn in the dangerous game being orchestrated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in the state.
OSUN DEFENDER recalls that the suit filed before Justice Isiaka Adeleke by the leadership of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, seeking an order of the court to bar APC reinstated council officials from secretariats, suffered a major setback on Thursday as the judge recused himself from the suit.
Justice Adeleke cited a petition authored by the Chairman of the APC in Osun State, Hon. Tajudeen Lawal, wherein he accused the judge of planning to deliver judgment in favour of NULGE without hearing from all the parties involved.
The judge, in his ruling, noted that such a weighty accusation of bias was enough reason for him to step aside to protect the sanctity of the bench.
Reacting through a press statement signed by its Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, the APC lashed out at the state chapter of NULGE, accusing the union of trading the welfare of its members for political handouts.
“The naked dance of NULGE in the market square is not only shameful but a complete betrayal of the trust reposed in the union by the workers it claims to represent,” the statement read.
The APC said it was disturbing that the same NULGE, whose members have been receiving salaries despite abandoning their duty posts since February, now has the audacity to drag duly reinstated elected officials to court — not for salary increment or better welfare, but for raw politics.
“It is sad that while grassroots governance is grounded and citizens suffer daily, NULGE’s compromised leadership continues to cavort with the Adeleke administration, even presenting the Governor with a symbolic key during the May Day celebration — a key which, metaphorically, appears to open the gates of impunity and lawlessness,” Olabisi stated.
He warned that no amount of “courtroom abracadabra” or strike-induced blackmail would overturn the clear pronouncement of the Court of Appeal which reinstated the elected APC council officials.
He urged well-meaning members of the union to rise and reclaim their body from what he described as a “PDP extension office.”
The party further called on the Adeleke administration to stop using state apparatus to undermine democratic structures, describing the continuous closure of council secretariats as a form of “government-sponsored sabotage.”
“History will not forget those who, at a time like this, chose political loyalty over the development and stability of Osun State,” the statement concluded.
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.
Related posts:
NULGE: Osun Judge Recuses Self From Case After APC’s Allegations
Osun LG Crisis: Newly Elected PDP Chairmen, NULGE Drag Reinstated Yes/ No Chairmen To Courts
Osun LG Crisis: NULGE Throws Weight Behind State Govt, Asks Workers Not To Resume
LG Crisis: ‘Fresh Application Height Of Impunity’ – Osun PDP Blasts APC
