By Abiola Olawale
The political crisis between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has continued to escalate as Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has issued a public outcry, alleging that Gboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and immediate past governor of the state, is attempting to destabilize Osun State and plunge it into chaos.
Adeleke made this accusation during a press conference on Sunday, February 16, 2025.
The New Diplomat reports that the latest outcry of Adeleke revolves around a political dispute concerning a court order and the alleged involvement of security agencies.
It would be recalled that the political tension between Adeleke and Oyetola dates back to 2018 when they first contested the Osun State governorship election. In that election,.
The 2022 governorship election saw a rematch between the two, with Adeleke securing a victory over Oyetola.
In the latest showdown between the duo, Adeleke accused Oyetola of orchestrating a plot to cause mayhem in Osun State starting from Monday, February 17, 2025.
The crux of the allegation centres on a court order that reportedly reversed the sack of local council chairmen, who were elected under the APC during Oyetola’s tenure.
Adeleke dismissed this court order as “non-existing” and accused Oyetola of pursuing a “fascist anti-democratic agenda” aimed at destabilizing the state.
According to Adeleke, Oyetola is allegedly working with key security officials in Osun State, to enforce the disputed court judgment. Adeleke claimed that these security operatives are allegedly working for Oyetola’s agenda due to the later’s role in the federal government as a minister.
He however expressed confidence that such actions would not work under the watch of a president he described as a “true democrat” and a “lover of the rule of law,” asserting that the Presidency would not support actions capable of causing violence.
Adeleke stated: “I, however, regret to inform Mr President and the public that Mr Gboyega Oyetola has concluded an arrangement to cause mayhem in Osun state starting from Monday. He is issuing illegal directives to security operatives to enforce illegality simply because he is the nephew of Mr. President. I chose to alert the nation before my people were killed or maimed by a minister dropping the name of Mr President in connivance with the Osun state security operatives obeying unlawful orders.
“The bone of contention is the brazen effrontery to return to office council chairmen sacked by a subsisting court Judgment using a different court decision, which has no consequential order.
“Let me make it clear that the said Council Chairmen were sacked before I was sworn in as governor of Osun State, contrary to the lies being peddled that the Chairmen and councillors were sacked by my Executive Order.
“For emphasis, l want to state that I had nothing to do with the sacking of the chairmen and councillors produced by the Osun 2022 local government polls. The Chairmen and Councilors were sacked by two different judgments of the Federal High Court Osogbo.
“The script Mr Oyetola is playing is about the most reprehensible abuse of power in this fourth republic capable of untold and unforeseen consequences on the polity.
“The general public is aware that there were two different Federal High Court judgments on the local government election of 2022. The first judgment was on the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which sacked the product of the 2022 polls. The second judgment was on the suit filed by the Action People Party (APP), which also sacked the Chairmen and Councillors produced by the said 2022 Osun Local Government polls.
“The APC appeal against the judgment obtained by the PDP was partially successful, and the said judgment was struck out based on the timing of filing, having been filed before the notice of election was published.
“It needs to be emphasized that the judgment contains no consequential orders. The APC, in its amended notice of Appeal, asked the Court of Appeal to reinstate the sacked chairmen and councillors, but the Court of Appeal, in its wisdom, said it had become an academic exercise. The request for the reinstatement of the Chairmen and Councilors was not granted.
“However, the Appeal by the APC against the APP judgment did not succeed at the Court of Appeal, which makes the judgment still subsisting and alive.
“The Court of Appeal dismissed the APC appeal against the judgment obtained by the APP. The only legal recourse open to the APC is to appeal the APP judgment and the subsequent rulings of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court.
“The Certified True Copies of both judgements had earlier been forwarded to the Osun state Commissioner of Police, the State Director of DSS and the State Commandant of Civil Defense by the Osun state Attorney General for their information and records.
“The Certified True Copies of both judgments are in the public domain. The judgment of the Court of Appeal on the PDP case was not ambiguous whatsoever. It simply struck out the PDP suit and did not, in any of its paragraphs, order the reinstatement of the sacked council chairmen and Councilors.”
