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From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Tension is building up in Osun State following a Federal High Court judgment dismissing an All Progressives Congress (APC) council chairmen “tenure elongation” suit and the subsequent forceful takeover of local government councils by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) council chairmen.
While the PDP chairmen believe the APC chairmen’s tenure lapsed in October 2025, as stated by the court, the APC insists that a stay of execution application prevented the PDP from taking over the councils.
Speaking with journalists in Osogbo on behalf of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria and concerned members of the APC, Adegoke Ogunsola, warned that a directive by the Osun State government, ordering security agencies to provide cover for those attempting to take over the councils could plunge the state into avoidable chaos.
Ogunsola said the judgment being used to enthrone new council chairmen is currently a subject of an appeal, noting that an application for stay of execution dated and filed on 16 June 2026 has been served on the parties.
He also stated that the persons currently occupying the councils, whom he referred to as self-appointed chairmen and councilors, were not parties to the original suit.
Ogunsola said the court’s reliefs, as argued by the claimants, included issues around whether elections allegedly held in February 2025 and what he described as the jamboree swearing-in at the Government House on 23 February 2025 could be considered a nullity if the claimants’ tenure was still subsisting.
According to him, these “recondite issues” are already before the Court of Appeal, adding that the government should respect the rule of law by awaiting the outcome.
He further quoted from the judgment, saying that the court found the claimants’ tenure ended in October 2025, including a passage he said appears on page 83 of the judgment: “No matter the interruptions/interjections in the tenure of the elected public officer after subscription to oath of office and oath of allegiance, the expiration date of the said tenure remains the same as per the constitution or the statute.”
He warned that if there were any breakdown of law and order, the Osun State Government would be held accountable.
