By Kolawole Ojebisi
Amidst ongoing dispute over the conduct of local council polls in Osun State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the federal government to allocate federal funds to only “democratically elected” and “judicially certified” local government officials in the state.
The APC made this call following the declaration of the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winners in all the 30 LGAs and 332 wards by the State Independent Electoral Commission in the controversial election held on Saturday
Recall that the buildup to the election was marred by violence, controversies, and litigations, as sacked APC chairpersons sought to return to their offices on the basis of a court ruling.
The PDP claimed that the February 10 judgment of the court of appeal in Akure, Ondo state, did not reinstate the sacked chairpersons and councillors elected in 2022, while the APC insisted it did.
Two days to the election, on February 20, Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, advised Ademola Adeleke, Osun governor, to direct the state electoral commission to halt the process.
Fagbemi said the ousted LGA chairpersons must be reinstated since the court of appeal had dismissed the judgment of the lower court that sacked them.
However, Adeleke insisted the election would proceed as scheduled.. The APC and Labour Party withdrew from the vote ahead of polling.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) also called for the suspension of the LG election over a likelihood of violence and security threats.
The Osun state high court in Osogbo would later order the State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) to conduct the election.
However, in a statement, Felix Morka, APC national spokesperson, said Saturday’s election was a “disgraceful sham — illegal and unconstitutional”.
Morka described the poll as a “wanton disregard” for the rule of law and a subsisting appeal court judgment.
The APC spokesperson said his party respected the federal high court’s ruling, exercised restraint, and diligently pursued an appeal.
He added that the APC did not resort to violence or self help.
The ruling party also wondered why it was difficult for Adeleke, who swore an oath to uphold and defend the constitution, to abide by a valid order of the court of appeal reinstating the sacked local government officials.
“Why is the Governor and his PDP vehement on taking matters into their own hands in disregard of a valid judgement of the Court of Appeal? Why is Governor Adeleke so desperate and determined to incite anarchy in Osun state with impunity?” the statement reads.
“And why is the Governor so unaffected by the already tragic loss of lives of innocent citizens of the state in reckless breach of his duty to protect lives and property of all citizens in the state?”
The APC spokesperson described the election as a “reckless waste of public funds, and an irresponsible incitement to further violence in the state”.
“Governor Adeleke is under constitutional responsibility to respect and uphold the laws of our land, including giving effect to binding court judgements notwithstanding his personal or partisan political wishes or preferences,” the statement added.
“As he was quick to issue an executive order sacking the local government officials based on the Federal High Court judgment of 2022, Governor Adeleke is under clear constitutional obligation to similarly comply with the Court of Appeal judgment reinstating the same officials.
“In keeping with the rule of law, it is our expectation that the federal government make federal allocation for local governments available only to democratically elected and judicially certified local government officials in Osun state.”
The APC added that local government workers in Osun state should carry out their duties peacefully, respecting the authority of the “judicially reinstated chairmen and councillors”.
