Osun government has stated that the Court of Appeal judgment in Akure on Monday did not reinstate the sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) local government chairmen and councillors.
Mr Kolapo Alimi, Osun Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, explained in a statement that the dismissed case was the PDP’s summons challenging the validity of the Oct. 15, 2022 election.
“The originating summons filed by the PDP was dismissed because the notice of election had not been published by Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) before the suit was filed.
“The implication of today’s judgment is that the PDP never legally challenged the validity of that election,” he said.
However, Alimi noted that another suit—”Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/103/22″—was filed at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, by the Action Peoples Party (APP).
The APP’s suit challenged the validity of the same election, leading to its nullification by the court.
“The court made the following clear and consequential orders,” he stated.
“The Oct. 15, 2022 local government election, held pursuant to the Aug. 15, 2022 notice, is unconstitutional, invalid, null, and void due to legal violations.
“All individuals occupying local government offices due to that election are hereby removed.
“Sections 25 and 26 of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission Law 2022 are struck down for contradicting the Constitution and Electoral Act 2022,” he said.
He stated that the Federal High Court ruling, delivered by Justice N. Ayo Emmanuel on Nov. 30, 2022, was appealed under Appeal No. CA/AK/226M/2024.
The Court of Appeal upheld the Federal High Court’s judgment in its ruling on Jan. 13, 2025.
According to Alimi, this remains the only valid and subsisting judgment on the Osun 2022 local government election.
He urged security agencies to arrest and prosecute anyone attempting to disrupt peace based on the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
Alimi added that, barring unforeseen circumstances, the local government election scheduled for Feb. 22, would proceed as planned.
Reacting to the judgment, Chief Adegoke Ogunsola, Osun APC Legal Adviser, accused OSSIEC Chairman, Hashim Abioye and the PDP-led government of misrepresenting the court’s decision.
In a statement, Ogunsola claimed OSSIEC and the state government deliberately misinterpreted the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
He argued that the judgment explicitly reinstated the wrongly sacked APC local government chairmen and councillors.
“This is false. The Court of Appeal, in clear terms, nullified the Federal High Court’s decision that had wrongly removed the elected officials from office.
“With this ruling, the APC chairmen and councillors elected in 2022 remain in office, and their tenure has not expired.
“Given this, no local government election can be conducted by OSSIEC in February,” he said.
Also, Tajudeen Lawal, Osun APC Chairman, through a statement by the party’s State Director of Media, Mr Kola Olabisi, praised the judgment reinstating APC officials.
“We congratulate all reinstated council chairmen and councillors on this judicial victory.
“We also rejoice with the good people of Osun for their resilience and support during this difficult period. This is a victory for all,” he said.
APC local government officers, elected on Oct. 15, 2022 through a “yes or no” referendum, were removed by Gov. Ademola Adeleke upon assuming office.