By Michael Ofulue, Osogbo

Governor Ademola Adeleke has explained why he held a special briefing session with the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers.

The Governor used the medium to reaffirm that there is no court order reinstating the court-sacked Yes/No council chairmen.

The briefing was a continuation of the Governor’s statewide consultations with elders and opinion moulders on the recent uproar over local government leadership, including a visit to Chief Bisi Akande at his Ibadan residence.

At the meeting, attended by top traditional rulers under the chairmanship of the Ooni of Ife, Arole Oodua, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, both the Commissioners for Justice (Jimi Wole Bada) and Information (Kolapo Alimi) presented four judgements to prove to the monarchs that the court order sacking the chairmen remains valid and in force.

Governor Adeleke, in his briefing paper widely shared among the monarchs, declared that statesmanship and divine intervention had saved Osun from a major calamity, lamenting that “our state just survived a major threat to the democratic space.”

“As one of the highly literate communities in Nigeria, we have a duty to avoid misinformation and disinformation, hence my coming here to present all details about the recent local government face-off.

“We are all aware that after I defeated Gboyega Oyetola in July 2022, he hurriedly organised a Yes/No local government election. Two political parties, PDP and APP, went to court to challenge the arrangement for the election.

“So there were two separate suits. The PDP case was filed before the promulgation of the Local Government Election Law of 2022. In both of these cases, the Federal High Court decided that the process and procedure leading to the election were flawed. The court, in both cases, declared the election null and void and of no consequence and removed the persons who were purported to have been elected through that flawed election. The court nullified and ordered that those who were purportedly elected vacate office.

“In the first appeal against the APP judgement, which sacked the Yes/No council chairmen, the APC and the APM filed an appeal but did not pursue the case. They ‘went to sleep,’ as lawyers would say. The respondents in the case, which included the PDP, sought to dismount the appeal. So the Court of Appeal dismissed the APC appeal.

“Our fathers, since the appeal was dismissed, the judgement sacking the Yes/No chairmen remains valid. As of today, the sack order has never been vacated by any court of law.

“Now, in the second case involving APC v. PDP, the Court of Appeal noted that there were four issues for determination and resolved Issues 1 and 2 and said: (1) the amendment granted by the Federal High Court when the case was pending was wrong; (2) the second order made by the Court of Appeal in that process was that the case itself was premature and that there was no cause of action. The court consequently resolved that Issues 3 and 4 became an academic exercise, meaning they were of no value, effect, or importance.

“So the Court of Appeal in Akure came to the conclusion that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to have entertained the matter in the first place and then struck out the case filed by the PDP and made NO ORDER.

“In the 53-page judgment that is in the public domain, there is nowhere an order was made by the Court of Appeal for reinstatement of the sacked chairmen. Even if there was any request for reinstatement, Prayers 3 and 4 were described by the Court of Appeal as academic, and the court declined to consider them,” Governor Adeleke told the monarchs.

The state governor told the royal fathers that “Osun State was ambushed suddenly by elements within the All Progressives Congress (APC) whose agenda was to burn down the state. Without any basis or foundation in law, the APC executed a deadly plot.”

“The evil agenda is to illegally take over the council secretariats based on a Court of Appeal ruling that has no consequential orders nor contains anything about the reinstatement of sacked chairmen.

“I immediately alerted the nation and security agencies in a national broadcast. Yet, nothing was done. We lost seven residents, with several others injured. As a responsible leader, I ordered all parties to stay away from the secretariats. PDP members obeyed, and the APC Yes/No chairmen defied the directive.

“As if that was not enough, we were shocked to read from the Attorney General of the Federation advising us to comply with a non-existent court order. The same advice was extended to us by the Inspector General of Police.

“We were in the midst of all this when an order of the State High Court mandated the electoral commission to fill the vacancies occasioned by the earlier sack of the Yes/No chairmen. The court also ordered security agencies to provide security for the elections.

“Our royal fathers, the local government election was validly held despite intimidation and harassment by security operatives who were taking directives from Mr Oyetola. We have now filled the vacancies in line with the Electoral Act, court judgements, and the Constitution of the country.

“I have proceeded to direct the elected officials to stay away from the councils. Our approach is to apply the rule of law instead of self-help to get the illegal occupants of the secretariats out of the way. We will not resort to violence. We will allow the law to take its full course.

“I was informed that the newly elected council chiefs and local government workers have dragged the illegal occupants of the council secretariats to court. We await court hearings and rulings.

“We are worried as a government because if you have a court judgement in your favour, there is a procedure for enforcement. The court has a process for enforcement. That process has no room for brigandage and self-help, as the APC Yes/No chairmen are doing.

“Secondly, why did the APC refuse to pursue the appeal filed against the APP judgement that sacked its chairmen? Why did the APC fail to appeal to the Supreme Court when its appeal was struck out by the Court of Appeal?

“In the case of the Akure Appeal Court ruling, the PDP has nothing to appeal against to the Supreme Court, as there was no consequential order, and the court directly ignored the reinstatement request as a mere academic exercise.

 “Thirdly, the Supreme Court ruling on the Rivers local government election has clearly confirmed that the Osun Yes/No election was conducted in violation of the Electoral Act and therefore remains null and void. The latest judgement of the apex court affirms that there is no legal ground for the Yes/No chairmen to continue to illegally occupy the secretariats.

“Our royal fathers, you have all the facts before you. There is no reinstatement order, as you can see. The Supreme Court came on time to validate the judgement of the Federal High Court, which sacked those elected in violation of the Electoral Act.

“I appeal to our royal fathers to further educate their subjects on the facts of the controversies. We are a community of enlightened citizens. We should not allow fake news to be weaponised to destroy our dear state,” the Governor noted in his address.

The royal fathers expressed appreciation and support for the state governor and resolved to educate their subjects and also pass the message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.