Today’s LG election a sham, illegal – APC chieftain, Adeleke

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Prince Adebayo Adeleke, speaks with Ismaeel Uthman on the crisis that led to the killing of six people across different local government areas of the state on Monday

What was the genesis of the crisis that resulted in the killings and destruction of property in many local government areas of the state?

We held a local government election in Osun State in October 2022 under the leadership of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. All the elected council chairmen and councillors were sworn in and began their duties. However, the Peoples Democratic Party challenged the election in a Federal High Court in Osogbo, presided over by Justice Emmanuel Ayoola. The court nullified the election and sacked all the elected local government chairmen and councillors.

As a law-abiding party, the APC had no choice but to vacate the councils while we challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal in Akure. We believed we had been unfairly treated at the trial court.

On 10 February 2025, the Court of Appeal delivered a landmark judgment in our favour. All three justices of the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld our appeal. One of our prayers was for the reinstatement of the elected local government chairmen and councillors who had been removed by the lower court and Governor Adeleke. The appellate court granted this prayer and struck out the judgment of the Federal High Court.

Unfortunately, the PDP, in their usual manner, began giving different interpretations to the judgment. They claimed the court did not explicitly order the LG chairmen and councillors to resume office. However, our appeal specifically sought the court’s permission for them to return, and the court granted it. In a democratic setting, there should be no cause for alarm. If the PDP disagreed with the verdict, they were free to approach the Supreme Court or apply for a stay of execution.

As we speak, our chairmen and councillors have been asked to resume—not to take over, because they were already in office before. Before their resumption, the police requested a copy of the Certified True Copy of the Appeal Court judgment, which we provided.

Without causing any trouble, the elected chairmen moved to the councils on Monday. However, the PDP, known for violence, unleashed terror on them. PDP thugs invaded almost all the councils and attacked the chairmen and councillors. The Chairman of Irewole Local Government Area, Remi Abass, was killed right in front of the council secretariat.

What kind of government resorts to killing? Lives were lost unnecessarily simply because they felt the judgment did not favour them. Governor Adeleke himself is a product of a court judgment. When we won the election in 2018, he challenged it in court but eventually lost at the Supreme Court. In 2022, he won the election, and we took the matter to court. We won at the tribunal, but he won at the Appeal Court and Supreme Court. We accepted it without resorting to violence. That is civility.

However, since the PDP took over in Osun, thuggery has been rampant. They should have gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the Appeal Court’s verdict or filed for a stay of execution instead of claiming that we needed another court order for the execution of the judgment.

Apart from Remi Abass, which other APC members or supporters were lost in Monday’s violence?

I don’t have all their names, but several people were killed in different local governments. A ward chairman was killed in Ikoyi. Houses were burnt. The Executive Director of Project Implementation at the Federal Housing Authority, Remi Omowaiye, was attacked—they intended to kill him. His vehicle was riddled with bullets. Our chairmanship candidate in Ilesa West, Tolu Famurewa, was also attacked. The violence was targeted at our members to prevent the enforcement of the Appeal Court’s judgment.

What steps are you taking now that the PDP is preventing the chairmen and councillors from resuming office?

They can continue their obstruction and killings, but the law is on our side. The beneficiaries of the judgment have already resumed their duties. There was no need for a fresh swearing-in since they had been sworn in previously. Unfortunately, we lost one of our 31 local government and area office chairmen to their violence.

Another local government election is holding today. Isn’t that a move to override your claims?

That election is illegal. The PDP is known for illegality. You cannot conduct an election for offices that are not vacant. The judgment reinstating the 2022 elected LG chairmen and councillors has not been vacated.

They are attempting to hold a sham election today and swear in their people tomorrow to create the illusion of legitimacy. But it won’t stand in the eyes of the law. Our councillors and chairmen have already resumed work.

The crisis stems from different interpretations of the Appeal Court judgment. Have they interpreted it correctly?

Everything they are doing is fraudulent. Their plan is to conduct a sham election on Saturday and swear in their people on Sunday so they can claim to have chairmen and councillors. But it won’t work. Legally, our councillors and chairmen remain reinstated and are already in office.

What should the people of Osun expect in 2026, considering the level of violence more than a year before the governorship election?

The 2022 governorship election was won through violence. Over 20 of our members were killed in Ilesa, Osogbo, and other areas. The PDP has not stopped. They killed again on Monday.

By 2026, no one will be intimidated anymore. The people of Osun now realise that this government is not what they voted for. They did not vote for killings and violence.

Osun is rich in resources, and the state has received more money in the last two years than the combined earnings under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Gboyega Oyetola. However, the beneficiaries of this government will claim it is good, while those who fought for Osun’s creation—many of whom are now deceased—would be disappointed. This is not the Osun they envisioned.

The government accused you of a contract scam during Oyetola’s administration. How do you respond to this?

I challenge them to petition the EFCC or any other anti-graft agency with their evidence instead of spreading baseless accusations on social media. They know they will lose. This is the first government to rely on social media for unfounded allegations. Let them present their facts. If I committed any infraction, let the EFCC investigate. I have nothing to hide.

Are you confident that the APC will reclaim Osun in 2026?

I am more than confident! The PDP is doing all this because they know they have already lost.

This is a government that survives on local government funds, which is why the governor is desperately preventing us from resuming office. They know that once we take control of the councils, their government is finished.

We have no problem in 2026. If the PDP listens to the people, they will realise they have lost touch. Do you think those workers sacked by Governor Adeleke and their families are happy with this government? The writing is on the wall.