APC accuses Adeleke of abusing judiciary, destabilising local councils in Osun

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of abusing the judicial process to harass elected local government officials and inflict hardship on residents at the grassroots.

The opposition party alleged that the Adeleke-led administration has persistently deployed court actions to undermine the reinstated APC chairmen and councillors across the state, warning that such actions could plunge Osun into avoidable political instability.

Raising the alarm at a press conference held at the party’s state secretariat in Osogbo, the APC state chairman, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)/Accord Party-led government of deliberately stalling development at the local government level.

Lawal, whose address was read by the APC director of media and information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, said the party was alarmed by what it described as the continued “ill-usage of court processes” by the state government.

“It is no longer news that on February 10, 2025, the Court of Appeal nullified the judgment that sacked our elected officers across all the local government councils in Osun State, and that judgment was never appealed by the Osun State Government,” Lawal said.

He noted that despite the clear ruling of the appellate court, the state government allegedly refused to accept the verdict, claiming the existence of a lower court judgment in a related case.

“Instead of approaching the Supreme Court, the state government commenced multiple lawsuits in different courts on the same subject matter already decided by the Court of Appeal,” he added.

The APC chairman recalled that on February 21, 2025, a judge purportedly interpreted the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court judgments and directed the state government to conduct fresh local government elections the following day, an action the party said was aimed at rendering the appellate court judgment nugatory.

According to him, the judge allegedly commenced and concluded the suit within 48 hours without joining all affected parties and while ignoring the Court of Appeal judgment that reinstated the APC chairmen and councillors.

Lawal further stated that the Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered on December 5, 2025, struck out the suit filed by the Osun State Government on the same local government councils, thereby affirming the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal.

“The Supreme Court expressly indicated that the Osun State Government and its candidates being paraded as purported chairmen and councillors have no legal basis, as the Court of Appeal ruling of June 13, 2025 made no such order,” he said.

The APC said the Supreme Court judgment effectively marked the end of what it described as the era of conflicting interim orders over Osun local government councils.

Fielding questions from journalists, the Osun State chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Samuel Idowu Abiodun, described the multiple lawsuits instituted by the Adeleke administration as frivolous, embarrassing, and inimical to development.

“Procurement of court orders everywhere has become a major problem in Osun State. As local government chairmen, we cannot function under such conditions,” Abiodun said.

He alleged that the state government had filed cases in various courts within and outside Osun, including in Oyo State, despite the presence of competent courts in Osun.

“We are even hearing that another case has been filed at the Magistrate’s Court after going from the High Court to the Supreme Court. This is an attempt to stop development in Osun State,” he said.

Abiodun added that the proliferation of court cases had prevented local councils from accessing statutory funds, thereby crippling governance at the grassroots.

Also speaking, the APC legal adviser and chairman of Irepodun Local Government Area, Hon. Adegoke Ogunsola, accused the state government of deliberately misinterpreting court judgments to mislead the public.

“We are here to show the world that we are legitimately in office. The judgments being cited by government officials are quoted out of context,” Ogunsola said.

He argued that if the judgments truly favoured the state government, its candidates would have lawfully assumed office.

“Instead, they pick portions, possibly obiter dicta, to mislead the public rather than relying on the ratio decidendi,” he added.