Osun State government and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state, on Wednesday, berated the All Progressives Congress and its National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, over their call on President Bola Tinubu to extend emergency rule imposition to Osun.

The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Civic Engagement, Kolapo Alimi, described the call for emergency rule in the state as callous, self-centred and unlawful.

Similarly, the spokesman for the Osun State PDP, Oladele Bamiji, accused Basiru and the APC of attempting to grab power through the backdoor after being rejected by the people at the polls.

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in River State, suspending the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and the members of the state House of Assembly for six months.

The President also appointed a retired Naval chief,  Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas, as the administrator of the state.

The President anchored his decision on the protracted political crisis between the governor and the lawmakers, with militants vandalising oil installations as the lawmakers pushed for the governor’s removal from office.

In a post on X.com following the President’s declaration of emergency rule, Basiru wrote: “Rivers State of Emergency: APC praises Tinubu, demands extension to Osun.”

In Osun State, the ruling PDP and the opposition APC are fighting for the control of the local government.

At the height of the crisis about three weeks ago, at least six persons were killed while the local government secretariats have become non-functional after workers withdrew their safety for fear of being caught up in the middle of political violence.

Backing Basiru, the Osun APC urged President Tinubu to extend emergency rule to Osun State.

Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said the PDP and Governor Ademola Adeleke had committed constitutional breaches that include an alleged attempt to remove the Osun Chief Judge, alleged killings of APC members during the 2022 general elections and disregard for court decisions.

Olabisi said, “The call by the APC National Secretary is in order. There is no constitutional breach that Fubara committed that Adeleke has not done the worst version of it here.

“He made an attempt to remove the Chief Judge; many APC members were killed during the 2022 general elections across the state; he disregarded valid court orders regarding the reinstated LG chairmen in the state.

“Adeleke has committed many constitutional breaches in this state to warrant imposition of emergency rule and we urge President Bola Tinubu to pay attention to what is happening in Osun and stop abuse of office by our governor. Senator Basiru is right and we stand by him.”

But in a strongly-worded statement on Wednesday, the Osun State government rejected the call by Basiru and the APC for a state of emergency in the state as “callous, self-centered and unlawful.”

The state’s  Commissioner for Information and Civic Engagement, Kolapo Alimi, insisted that there was a clear difference between the current political development in Rivers and Osun when placed side by side.

Alimi advised Basiru and APC not to truncate the peace and tranquility currently enjoyed in Osun in an attempt to take the reigns of governance through the backdoor.

 “I have read what the overambitious and loud-mouthed National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said concerning the need for the declaration of a state of emergency to be extended by President Bola Tinubu as done in Rivers State last night to Osun State.

“While the call, no doubt, stems from a demented mind, it will be recalled that the same Basiru had in the not too recent past made a similar call when I engaged him on a national television station on the Yes-No local government chairmen in Osun State.

“It must, however, be emphasised that not only Basiru alone holds this senseless and obnoxious impression but the entire APC cohorts and their members and followers in Osun state, who, on a daily basis, are scheming for one mischievous device or the other in order to come through the backdoor to take the reigns of governance in Osun State; but by the grace of God and with the support of the people of Osun State for the administration of Ademola Adeleke, all the evil machinations against the people-oriented government of Ademola Adeleke will not see the light of the day.”

The commissioner called on the President to see through the antics of those he called ‘rejected and frustrated politicians’ by rejecting the baseless call for the declaration of a state of emergency in Osun.

“For any political observers in Osun State, it’s very clear that the Osun APC lacks the popularity, political acceptance and sagacity to face and defeat Ademola Adeleke in any election, hence their resort to all forms of antics to get to power through the backdoor. One of such antics was their failed attempt to cause mayhem in the state through enforcement of a non-existent Court of Appeal judgment to reinstate their Yes-No chairmen and councillors. With that enforcement of the non-existent judgment, they almost put Osun into a state of anarchy.

“However, Governor Adeleke, being a man of peace and of the people, saw this coming, hence, the directive given to the duly elected local government chairmen in the state not to go to their various LG secretariats after the swearing-in ceremony. Had Governor Adeleke not been proactive and guided by great wisdom, only God would have known what the APC could have turned the state into while carrying out their awada Keri keri (comedy show) in the various LG secretariats of our dear state.”

Accusing APC of making an attempt to make Osun ungovernable, Alimi said three cases are pending before the courts of law regarding the tussle over control of local government areas in the state involving the government and Osun APC.

“With all these, couldn’t Basiru read in between the lines that the matters at hand are all legal issues,  which should also be resolved through the court as opposed to calling for the declaration of the state of emergency?”

Similarly rejecting the call for a state of emergency in Osun, the Osun PDP spokesman, Bamiji, described Basiru’s call as reckless, maintaining that the situation in Rivers was different from that of Osun.

Bamiji said, “We take exception to the outrageous call by the former Senator and the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress calling for the imposition of a state of emergency on Osun State. I think that statement was not only reckless but dangerous and demeaning of Mr Basiru’s standing, at least as a former senator and the national scribe of the APC.”

The PDP described Basiru’s push for a state of emergency in Osun as a ploy by the APC to grab power through the backdoor.

Bamiji said, “The impression to us and the watching members of the public is that the APC has found a new shortcut of taking back states of the federation where their party has lost and rejected. Maybe that of the Rivers where they’ve contested the river through the pronouncement of the President yesterday which is being widely contested, I don’t know whether Mr Basiru is reading the reactions of the various segments of the country.

“Rivers is different from Osun. The political logjam there is different from what we have here. There is nothing near a breakdown of governance in Osun State. The state government is running well. The state Assembly is there and the judiciary has no problem.

“We cannot now say because there are issues being trashed out at the local government, which is normal in politics anywhere in the world. There would always be altercations here and there. So, the national secretary of the APC should not be creating the impression that they can lose the election in the open field and take such state back through the backdoor, especially, through the force of the state of emergency.”

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has issued a stern warning to party chieftains from outside the state, accusing them of undermining the party in favour of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

In a statement signed by Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi on Tuesday, the Osun APC threatened to release the names of those allegedly using their influence with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to promote Adeleke.

The statement said, “Our ears are full of the inglorious and nefarious contributions of highly placed chieftains of our party at the presidency and from APC-controlled states who are engaging in anti-party activities.”

The party claimed to have a list of serving governors, ministers and political appointees who, due to their personal ties with Adeleke, had been advocating for him within the Presidency.

“We, as a party, are warning those concerned to do a soul-searching and urgently back out of their treacherous political activities against our members and supporters in Osun State,” the statement added.

The Osun APC described the alleged acts as a betrayal, warning that those involved risked being publicly named and branded enemies of the party.

“There is no rationale behind unnecessarily working against the interest of our party in Osun State. These identified political turncoats have been monitored over time,” the statement noted.

The party further accused Adeleke’s administration of being complicit in violence against its members, citing the killing of Remi Abass, an APC chieftain in Irewole local government area of the state.

“Our message to these APC chieftains working against the party’s interest is clear: leave us alone if you cannot use your influence to enhance the party’s position,” the statement stressed.

According to the statement, some of the accused APC chieftains had provided Adeleke’s administration with financial and logistical support, allegedly strengthening his influence in Abuja.

“This untoward development has emboldened Governor Adeleke and his cohorts to boast openly that they have the keys to the presidency,” the statement alleged.

The APC reaffirmed its strength in Osun, insisting that the party remained solid despite Adeleke’s alleged efforts to undermine it.

“What we will not tolerate is for some treacherous chieftains of the party to portray Governor Adeleke as ‘a good boy’ to President Tinubu when it is clear he has been working against the party.”

The party further accused Adeleke of criticising President Tinubu while allegedly working to weaken the APC in Osun.

“It would be recalled that no fewer than 30 APC members and supporters were killed by PDP hoodlums across the state to enable Adeleke and his candidates rig the elections in 2022 and 2023,” the statement claimed.

The Osun APC vowed to continue its opposition to Adeleke’s administration and work towards reclaiming the governorship in 2026.

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has told the state’s traditional rulers that no court order reinstated the local government chairmen removed earlier through court rulings.

Governor Adeleke made this known during a special briefing with the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers, chaired by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

The governor’s briefing was part of his consultations with key stakeholders on the ongoing local government leadership dispute.

Commissioners for Justice and Attorney General, Jimi Wole Bada, and Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, presented four court judgments supporting the removal of the chairmen.

“Our state just survived a major threat to the democratic space. We must avoid misinformation, which is why I am here to provide all the facts about the recent local government face-off,” he said.

He explained that after defeating former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in the July 2022 election, the previous administration hastily organised a local government election, which was later challenged by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Action Peoples Party, APP.

The Federal High Court ruled the elections null and void, declaring the process flawed and ordering the removal of those elected through that process.

“The sack order remains valid and has never been vacated by any court of law,” Adeleke stated.

He further clarified that an appeal against the APP judgment, filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, was dismissed after the appellants failed to pursue the case.

“When the appeal was struck out, the judgment sacking the chairmen stood,” he added.

On a separate case involving the PDP and APC, the Court of Appeal ruled the matter premature and struck it out without any consequential orders for reinstatement.

“The 53-page judgment contains no order for the reinstatement of the sacked chairmen,” the governor told the monarchs.

In response, the Osun APC accused Governor Adeleke of misleading the traditional rulers.

The party in a statement by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi said Governor Adeleke is feeding the royal fathers lies to whip up unmerited sentiment.

The APC insisted the Court of Appeal’s ruling on February 10, 2025 reinstated the council chairmen and councillors.

“A lower court cannot overturn the decision of a superior court,” Olabisi stated.

The party challenged Governor Adeleke to approach the Supreme Court if he disagreed with the ruling, instead of seeking judgments from what they described as obscure state high courts.

The APC also referenced the Attorney General of the Federation’s advice against holding local government elections, arguing that there were no vacancies to fill.

Meanwhile, the Osun traditional rulers expressed their support for Governor Adeleke and pledged to convey the facts of the situation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun State has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of engaging in an abuse of court process.

The party in a statement on Thursday by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi accused Governor Adeleke of treating with disdain the judgement of the appellate court which reinstated the elected APC local government council chairmen and councillors on February 10, 2025.

The party revealed that it was aware that Governor Adeleke was behind the court suits instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, local government officials elected during the February 22, local government elections.

The Osun APC also stated that it was morally and legally offensive that the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Osun State chapter, could get entangled in an ostensibly partisan political matter.

It accused the union of swaying to the whims and caprices of the allegedly illegally elected council chairmen and councillors who were not known to the law of the land by virtue of the Court of Appeal judgement of February 10, 2025.

According to report the PDP elected local council officials had on Wednesday approached an Osun State High Court sitting in Ikirun on the resolution of the ongoing logjam created by the occupation of the various council secretariats by the local government officials produced by the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in 2022.

Also, it was gathered that the Osun State chapter of National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, has equally instituted a lawsuit in the Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa over the forceful invasion and illegal occupation of the local government secretariats by the APC local government chairmen and councillors of elected during the Oyetola led administration in Osun State.

The decision by Osun NULGE it was gathered is in pursuant to the importance of maintaining law and order aimed at particularly insulating their members from harm, which could brew up at any time while performing their official duties as local government employees,

The Osun APC statement reads, “If Governor Adeleke and his cohorts think that they can thwart the judgement of a superior court by a lower court through the back door, they will still remain perpetual jokers of the century.

“The latest unpopular judicial journey of Governor Adeleke and his cohorts is an indication that they have lost the chance of exhibiting to the whole world that they have what it takes to govern the state effectively.

“One does not need to be a legal mind to know that if truly Governor Adeleke has a substantive cause of action, the suitable arena for him to go would have been the Supreme Court for redress over the landmark Court of Appeal judgement that reinstated the APC local government council chairmen and councillors.

“The fact is that he is shopping for a compromising judicial officer, that has been the reason why the case that had been adjudicated over by the Court of Appeal is being reintroduced to the lower court through the back door, which is a classic example of an abuse of court process.

“Those who are thinking for Governor Adeleke are quite aware that the litigations are dead on arrival but are merely designed to keep the Peoples Democratic Party PDP members together and waste the precious time of the court and subsequently constituting a clog in the wheel of progress of the smooth running of the local government administration by the reinstated APC council chairmen and councillors.

“What evidence do we need again to state and conclude that the litigation by the NULGE was the handiwork of the Adeleke-led administration as it was his state commissioner for information, Kolapo Alimi, that rolled out the aspect of the story concerning the NULGE today?

“We want to state unequivocally that we are unperturbed with the development as there are men and women of honour and integrity in the state judiciary who could not be infected by the glaring misnomer which has become the hallmark of Governor Adeleke’s administration.

“The reinstated local government chairmen and councillors have come to stay and the earlier Governor Adeleke learns how to co-govern with them, the better it would be for him as they were elected the same way the governor was elected.”