The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the federal government to withhold allocations meant for local government councils in Osun State because of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s failure to comply with the rule of law.
They demanded that the allocations to the local government councils in the state be seized until judicially reinstated elected local government Chairmen are allowed to assume office according to a substantive court order.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka described the conduct of local government election in Osun state as illegal and unconstitutional.
The party condemned the conduct of last Saturday’s local government election in the state and accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of violating his oath of office by conducting the polls.
APC also alleged that Governor Adeleke and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disrupted the state’s peace by refusing to comply with the February 10, 2025, Court of Appeal ruling that ordered the reinstatement of sacked elected local government officials.
Morka said “The purported last Saturday’s fresh election conducted by Governor Adeleke and his PDP is nothing but a disgraceful sham, illegal, unconstitutional and violently contemptuous of the valid and subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal, and of no effect whatsoever. The exercise was a reckless waste of public funds, and an irresponsible incitement to further violence in an already volatile atmosphere in the state.”
The APC spokesman noted that the appellate court in its ruling on February 10, 2025, overturned a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the election of APC-backed local government officials in 2022.
The Appeal Court declared the Federal High Court’s decision incompetent and ordered the reinstatement of the sacked officials until their term expires in October 2025.
Instead of complying with the ruling, APC accused Adeleke of proceeding with fresh elections in defiance of the court’s order.
Morka accused Governor Ademola Adeleke’ of flagrant breach of his oath of office and accused him of reckless political provocation that has already led to violent unrest and loss of lives in Osun State.
“Why is it so difficult for Governor Adeleke, who swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, to abide by a valid order of the Court of Appeal?” the statement queried. “Why is the Governor so determined to incite anarchy in Osun State with impunity?”
He then called on the federal government to make allocations unavailable to the local government areas until democratically elected officials are allowed into their offices.
“In keeping with the rule of law, it is our expectation that the Federal Government will make federal allocation for local governments available only to democratically elected and judicially certified local government officials in Osun state,” Morka insisted.
