Osun State: Governor Adeleke, Oyetola Trade Words Over LG Crisis
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Sunday, called on President Bola Tinubu to warn the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, against unleashing mayhem in the state, starting from today (Monday).
But in a swift response, Oyetola, in a press statement on Sunday, refuted Adeleke’s claim that he was plotting to destabilise Osun State, saying his antecedents, pedigree and track records of public service in the last 15 years do not support Adeleke’s claim.
Speaking at a press conference in Osogbo on Sunday, Adeleke accused Oyetola of orchestrating a plan to enforce the verdict of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division of February 10, which allowed the appeal filed by the local government chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in the October 15, 2022 election.
The elected LG officials were sacked by a decision of Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of an Osogbo Federal High Court on November 25, 2022.
But following the Court of Appeal’s decision, they have been angling to return, a situation that did not sit well with the Adeleke-led administration, which has fixed February 22 to conduct a fresh LG poll.
At the weekend, Oyetola, who is the immediate past governor of Osun, held a meeting with APC stakeholders in Osogbo and called on the security agencies to facilitate the return of the sacked APC LG chairmen back to office.
In response to Oyetola’s call, Adeleke, on Sunday, held a press conference, where he declared Oyetola’s call as an invitation to anarchy or violence in the state.
Adeleke, who was flanked by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, and the Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, insisted that the Court of Appeal judgment, which the APC LG chairmen were bandying, did not make an express order returning them to office.
He alleged that Oyetola had met with and given instructions to security chiefs in the state, including the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abbar, the Director of the Department of State Services and the Commandant of the Civil Defense Corps, Mr. Igbalawole Sotiyo, to help the sacked LG chairmen back to office.
He described Oyetola’s push to return the sacked LG chairmen to office as “brazen effrontery”.
Adeleke insisted that no consequential orders were given by the Court of Appeal to return the sacked APC LG chairmen to office.
