Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has asked President Bola Tinubu to caution the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, over an alleged plot to create chaos and anarchy in the Southwest state.

At a press briefing on Sunday, Adeleke alleged that his predecessor had instructed the police and the Department of State Services “to effect a non-existent judgement by forcefully taking over the local governments on Monday”.

The governor said, “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.

“In a democratic society governed by the rule of law, we all must submit to the law. If we are dissatisfied with the outcome of a court process, we can appeal to the next court to end at the Supreme Court.”

Adeleke urged Tinubu to insist on the rule of law by instructing police and the DSS “not to obey an illegal order from his nephew, Mr Gboyega Oyetola. The Osun State security chiefs should also be called to order”.

“I call on Mr President to instruct the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation to personally verify the fact that the Court of Appeal judgement did not reinstate the sacked local government chairmen and councillors and the fact that there is a subsisting judgement of Court that sacked the Chairmen and Councillors produced by the 2022 local government polls,” he said.

APC Reacts

The state chapter of Oyetola’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in its response, dismissed Adeleke’s allegations as an attempt to evade legal procedures, advising him to approach the Supreme Court if dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal’s judgment.

Osun APC spokesperson Kola Olabisi denied that Oyetola had issued any illegal directives to security agencies, accusing Adeleke of resorting to blackmail instead of legal recourse.

“Oyetola has not instructed anyone, including security chiefs, on how to do their job. Adeleke should know that blackmail or sentiment will not change the court’s decision,” Olabisi stated.

He argued that the APC-led local government officials were unjustly removed in 2022 and had now been lawfully reinstated through the courts.

“The court has spoken, and those affected by Adeleke’s actions have been left out in the cold for too long. Now that justice has been served, as the leader of the Osun APC, Oyetola is committed to ensuring the ruling is implemented,” he added.

Olabisi insisted that the APC would remain law-abiding but would also ensure that the court’s verdict was upheld.

“Court of Law has spoken, and the verdict must be obeyed. So, he should stop this blackmail because that will not work here. As for us in APC, we will remain law-abiding, but we won’t sleep on our right,” he concluded.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) won in all 34 local government areas of Katsina state, according to the results of the February 15 local government elections announced by the chairman of the state independent electoral commission (KASIEC), Alhaji Lawal Alhassan Faskari.

Katsina state governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, congratulated the 34 newly elected local government chairmen and hailed the peaceful and transparent electoral process, describing it as a milestone in the state’s democratic journey.

He said: ”The peaceful conduct of yesterday’s elections is nothing but a show of maturity of our democracy and the commitment of our people to peaceful political participation,”

”The absence of electoral violence and the impressive voter turnout was as a result of citizens’ dedication to democratic principles”

“The sweeping victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the local governments reflects public confidence in our party’s governance. More importantly, the overwhelming mandate validates the noticeable investment we have built in the people of Katsina State”

While calling on the local government chairmen to align with the state’s “Building Your Future agenda”, he stressed that the development framework must be replicated at the grassroots level to ensure uniform progress in Katsina state

Radda particularly emphasized the need to sustain and strengthen the State Government Community Development Programme (CDP).

He further charged the incoming chairmen to prioritize inclusive governance policy of government adding that the dividends of democracy must reach every citizen, regardless of political affiliation

He said: ”I urge you to uphold the party’s reputation through transparent leadership, zero tolerance for corruption, and most importantly effective utilization of local government autonomy,”

The governor also expressed deep appreciation to the Katsina people for their staunch belief in the All Progressives Congress (APC) by repaying the positive impact made in various communities with their massive votes at the polls.

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has announced an adjournment until March 3, when the parties will be able to adopt their final written addresses regarding the dispute related to the governorship election conducted on September 21, 2024.

This date was confirmed by the Tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, after the lawyer for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), stated that his client’s case had been closed.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, are disputing the declaration of APC’s Monday Okpebholo as the election winner, contending that there were significant flaws in the electoral process.

At the resumption of proceedings yesterday, Orbih initially told the tribunal that he would not be able to proceed with the case because the documents his team sought to tender were yet to be brought from Benin.

Orbih subsequently changed his mind and said having reviewed the conduct of the case and evidence led so far, his team found no need to lead further evidence.

The APC, which is the third respondent in the case, had promised to call 28 witnesses. It called four on Wednesday when it opened its case.

Orbih said: “We have carefully done a further comprehensive review of the evidence led by the petitioners, evidence elicited from their witnesses under cross-examination, the evidence led so far by the respondents in this petition and the documentary evidence presented before the tribunal.

“We have also considered the fact that time is of the essence and there is no need embarking on an exercise that will not take into account that the time of the tribunal is precious.

“Taking all these factors into consideration, we are happy to close the third respondent’s case, with the leave of the tribunal,” Orbih said.

Lawyer to the petitioners, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN); Kanu Agabi (SAN) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) for Okpebholo, did not object to Orbih’s application to close the case of the APC.

The tribunal, however, rejected Orbih’s request that the seven days earlier allocated to the respondents to file their final written addresses should be extended by three days.

Ruling, Justice Kpochi held that the days earlier allocated to parties could not be extended because the tribunal also required adequate time to consider all evidence led, including documents tendered.

He ordered the respondents to file their addresses within seven days, beginning from February 14; the petitioners to file within five days from the date of service, while the respondents shall file their replies, if any, within three days.