The lingering crisis over local government leadership in Osun State took another twist on Monday as representatives of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration and former Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s camp clashed over control of the third tier of government.
The heated exchange played out during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where both sides traded words on the legality of the 2022 local government elections and the validity of court rulings on the matter.
Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, accused Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, of deliberately causing instability at the grassroots by hurriedly conducting what he termed an illegal council election shortly before leaving office.
“It’s quite unfortunate that we are where we are in Osun. The person responsible for this crisis is the former Governor, Gboyega Oyetola. After losing the governorship election in July 2022, he still went ahead to organise a local government election in October, even though his administration was coming to an end,” Alimi alleged.
He claimed the election, which was held on October 15, 2022, violated the Electoral Act by failing to comply with the mandatory 360-day notice requirement. According to him, the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) gave only 60 days’ notice, despite warnings from political parties.
Alimi added that although the PDP initially challenged the election in court, the case was struck out on technical grounds, stressing that the dismissal did not validate what he described as the APC’s illegality.
But responding, Adebayo Adeleke, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under Oyetola, dismissed the claims, saying the elections were properly conducted and the officials duly sworn in on November 25, 2022.
“In politics, parties that feel unpopular may decide not to participate, but that doesn’t make an election invalid. The chairmen and councillors elected under Oyetola’s government remain legitimate,” he insisted.
He explained that although the PDP secured a favourable judgment at the Federal High Court which sacked the APC officials, they complied with the ruling and proceeded to the Court of Appeal.
According to him, the Court of Appeal in February 2025 ruled in favour of the APC and upheld the validity of the elections, stressing that the ruling remains in force.
“There’s been no judgment reversing that February verdict. What happened recently was the Court of Appeal declining to relist the PDP’s appeal, which does not in any way invalidate the elections or our officials,” he said.
But Alimi insisted that the Court of Appeal’s latest judgment delivered on June 13, 2025, affirmed the PDP’s position, nullified the elections and upheld the removal of the APC council officials.
“We are calling on the Attorney General of the Federation to act based on that latest judgment. Osun people want normalcy at the local government level. No amount of manipulation can change the fact that those elections were illegal,” he maintained.
The clash between both camps has further deepened the uncertainty around local government administration in the state, with both parties interpreting court rulings to suit their positions.
