Politics
Osun LGs: Adeleke Briefs Traditional Rulers
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has held a special briefing session with the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers, affirming that there is no court order reinstating the court-sacked Yes/No council chairmen.
Biztellers gathered that the briefing was a continuation of the governor’s statewide consultations with elders and opinion moulders on the recent uproar on the leadership of local governments including a visit to Chief Bisi Akande at his Ibadan residence.
At the meeting, under the chairmanship of the Ooni of Ife, Arole Oodua, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, both the Commissioners for Justice (Jimi Wole Bada) and Information (Kolapo Alimi) presented the four judgements to prove to the kings that the court order sacking the chairmen remained valid and in force.
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Gov Adeleke in his briefing paper widely shared among the monarchs declared that statesmanship and divine intervention have saved Osun from major calamity, lamenting that “our state just survived a major threat to the democratic space.
“As one of the highly literate communities in Nigeria, we have a duty to avoid misinformation and disinformation, hence my coming here to present all details about the recent local government face off.
“We are all aware that after I defeated Gboyega Oyetola in July 2022, he hurriedly organised a Yes/No local government election. Two political parties, PDP and APP went to Court to challenge the arrangement for the election.
“So there were two separate suits, PDP case was filed before the promulgation of Local Government Election Law of 2022. In both of these cases, the Federal High Court decided that the process and procedure leading to the election was flawed. The court in both cases declared the election null and void and of no consequences and removed the persons who were purported to have been elected through that flawed election. The Court nullified and ordered that those who were purportedly elected vacate the office.
“In the first appeal against the APP judgement which sacked the Yes/No Council chairmen, the APC and the APM filed an appeal but did not pursue the case. They went to sleep as lawyers would say. The respondent in the case which included the PDP, sought to dismount the appeal. So the Court of Appeal dismissed the APC appeal.
“Our fathers, since the appeal was dismissed, the judgement sacking the Yes/No chairmen remains valid. As at today, the sack order has never been vacated by any court of law.
“Now in the second case involving APC V PDP, the Court of Appeal noted that there were four issues for determination and resolved issue 1 and 2 and said; (1) the amendment granted by the Federal High Court when the case was pending was wrong; (2) the second order made by the Court of Appeal in that process was that the case itself was premature and that there was no cause of action. The court consequently resolved that issue 3 and 4 became academic exercise, that is of no value, effect or importance.
“So the Court of Appeal in Akure came to the conclusion that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to have entertained the matter in the first place and then struck out that case that was filled by PDP and made NO ORDER.
“In the 53-page judgment that is in the public domain, there is nowhere an order was made by the Court of Appeal for reinstatement of the sacked chairmen. Even if there was any request for reinstatement, prayer 3 and 4 were described by the Court of Appeal as academic and the court declined to consider them.”
It was gathered that he told the royal fathers that “Osun state was ambushed suddenly by elements within the All Progressives Congress (APC) whose agenda was to burn down the state. Without any basis or foundation in law, the APC executed a deadly plot.
“The evil agenda is to illegally take over the council secretariats based on a court of appeal ruling that has no consequential orders nor contain anything about reinstatement of sacked chairmen.
“I immediately alerted the nation and security agencies in a national broadcast. Yet, nothing was done. We lost seven residents with several others injured. As a responsible leader, I ordered all parties to stay away from the secretariats. PDP members obeyed and the APC Yes /No chairmen defied the directive.
“As if that was not enough, we were shocked to read from the Attorney General of the Federation, advising us to comply with a non-existing court order. Same advice was extended to us by the Inspector General of Police.
“We were in the midst of all these when an order of the state high court mandated the electoral commission to fill the vacancies occasioned by the earlier sack of the yes/No chairmen. The court also ordered security agencies to provide security for the elections.
“Our royal fathers, the local government election was validly held despite intimidation and harassment by security operatives who were taking directives from Mr Oyetola. We have now filled the vacancies in line with the electoral act, court judgements and the constitution of the country.
“I have proceeded to direct the elected officials to stay away from the councils. Our approach is to apply rule of law instead of self-help to get the illegal occupants of the Secretariats out of the way. We will not resort to violence. We will allow the law to take its full course.
“I was informed that the newly elected council chiefs and local government workers have dragged the illegal occupants of the council secretariats to court. We await court hearings and rulings.
“We are worried as a government because if you have a court judgement in your favour, there is a procedure for enforcement. The court has a process for enforcement. That process has no room for brigandary and self-help as the APC Yes/No chairmen are doing.
“Secondly, why did APC refuse to pursue the appeal filed against the APP judgement that sacked its chairmen? Why did the APC fail to appeal to the Supreme Court when its appeal was struck out by the Court of Appeal?
“In the case of Akure appeal court ruling, PDP has nothing to appeal against to the Supreme Court as there was no consequential order and as the court has directly ignored reinstatement request as mere academic exercise.
“Thirdly, the Supreme Court ruling on Rivers local government election has clearly confirmed that the Osun Yes/No election was conducted in violation of the electoral act and therefore remains null and void. The latest judgement of the apex court affirm that there is no legal ground for the Yes/No chairmen to continue to illegally occupy the secretariats.
“Our royal fathers, you have all the facts before you. There is no reinstatement order as you can see. The Supreme Court came on time to validate the judgement of the Federal High Court which sacked those elected in violation of the electoral act.
“I appeal to our royal fathers to further educate their subjects on the facts of the controversies. We are a community of enlightened citizenry. We should not allow fake news to be weaponized to destroy our dear state”, the Governor noted in his address.
The royal fathers expressed appreciation and support for the state Governor and resolved to educate their subjects and also pass the message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, has accused the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, of showing “symptoms of desperation” over his promise to restore fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Afegbua made the remarks during an interview while reacting to Atiku’s position on the removal of petrol subsidy and the former vice president’s renewed call for government intervention in fuel pricing.
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According to him, Atiku, Peter Obi and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had all campaigned ahead of the 2023 presidential election on the need to remove fuel subsidy.
“Now, talking about fuel subsidy, I think the ADC candidate is showing symptoms of desperation,” Afegbua said.
He argued that Tinubu, after winning the 2023 election, implemented the removal of the petrol subsidy, adding that anyone seeking its return should be properly scrutinised because, in his view, the previous subsidy regime created opportunities for fraud and contributed to the decline of Nigeria’s refineries.
“Anybody who is planning to bring back subsidy, that person should be examined properly, because that person is trying to bring back subsidy scammers, saboteurs, and buccaneers who held down Nigeria for so long using subsidy and crippled our refineries,” he said.
Afegbua also alleged that the ADC was experiencing financial difficulties and suggested that this was influencing its campaign messaging.
“The ADC, as it were today, is undergoing some financial strain. So they are looking for every opportunity to rake in money and all of that,” he said.
The Edo commissioner, however, acknowledged that Nigerians were still facing the effects of high fuel and transportation costs, pointing to ongoing government interventions, including the planned commissioning of 50 CNG buses in Edo State.
He said the buses, expected to be commissioned on October 15, would be distributed across the three senatorial districts and would provide free transportation for passengers.
Recall that Atiku had on August 20, 2026, pledged to restore petrol subsidy if elected president in the 2027 election.
Speaking during a Facebook Live session, the ADC candidate questioned how the resources previously spent on subsidy had been utilised following its removal.
“I initially did not oppose the removal of the fuel subsidy. But now that it has been removed, where is the money? Where has the subsidy money gone?” Atiku asked.
He subsequently said: “If I win the presidential election, I will restore the subsidy. And anyone who stole Nigeria’s subsidy funds must return the money.”
On August 25, Atiku further reaffirmed that his position had not changed, saying, “When I said I would return to subsidy, I will!”
He later clarified that the proposed intervention would be targeted and focused on supporting domestic production rather than simply returning to the former import-subsidy model.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, has stated clear terms and conditions on which he will quit the party, the presidential race and back its rival, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
The former Governor of Rivers State challenged Tinubu to bring the price of petrol down to ₦600 per litre and see him withdraw from the ADC ticket and campaign for the President in the 2027 election.
Amaechi made the challenge while reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day address and the President’s declaration that Nigeria had entered an “age of prosperity” during an interview on Friday with Channels Television’s Politics Today.
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Questioning the believability of Tinubu’s claim, Amaechi said Nigerians should assess whether the economic reforms had translated into lower prices and improved living conditions.
“It is about believability; who do you believe? Go to the 2005 Presidential speech; it is the same: we have turned the page, and we are about to start enjoyment,” Amaechi said.
“Have you asked one of your staff who goes by transport, how much it costs from Yanya to Abuja? Has anything come down?
“Has any price come down, has anything changed?” he asked.
Using the price of petrol as a test of the government’s economic claims, Amaechi said he would personally visit a filling station to establish whether the product had fallen to ₦600 per litre.
“I will go tomorrow morning to the petrol station to buy fuel, I will go myself, if fuel has come down to 600, I will campaign for President Tinubu,” Amaechi said.
The former Minister for Transport, under late President Muhammadu Buhari also challenged those who doubted his pledge to accompany him with a camera, saying he would withdraw from the ticket he is contesting alongside former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and support Tinubu if petrol had fallen to the stated price.
“If you doubt me, come with your camera to my house, and I will go to the filling station and buy fuel, and I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi will withdraw as a vice presidential candidate of Atiku and campaign for President Tinubu, if it has come down,” he declared.
The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, has promised to make education, books and examination fees free across the state within his first 100 days in office if elected governor in 2027.
Doherty made the pledge on Thursday during a special town hall meeting hosted by The Platform, a thought leadership initiative of The Covenant Nation, in Lagos.
Speaking on his plans for his first 100 days in office, the governorship candidate said his administration would make education entirely free, including the provision of books and payment of examination fees.
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“We will also provide one nutritious meal for every kid in public school. We will also provide a programme by which kids who are in public schools are transported free to school if they need it,” Doherty said.
He explained that the measures were aimed at ensuring that no child is denied access to education.
“Because the children, given our demographics, are the hope of the future and will be the time bomb of the future,” he said.
Doherty also promised what he described as truly free healthcare, with particular attention to maternal and child healthcare.
On housing, the NDC candidate said his administration would adopt a large-scale approach to addressing the housing deficit in Lagos, rather than delivering only a few hundred housing units.
“Our commitment is to deliver about 150,000 units in our first term because a large part of the problem with housing is the fact that supply has not kept up with the demand,” he said.
The pledges form part of Doherty’s proposed agenda ahead of the 2027 Lagos State governorship election.
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