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By Tracy Moses
Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and representative of Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, Osun State, has called on Governor Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke to immediately obey the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal, which reinstated elected local government officials from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
In a statement released to the press in Abuja on Thursday, Oke criticized Governor Adeleke for allegedly failing to uphold the law while accusing him of attempting to malign prominent national leaders, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Central Bank Governor Yemi Cardoso, and APC stalwart and former Osun Governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
“Stop dragging the names of President Tinubu, APC leader Gboyega Oyetola, AGF Fagbemi, and the CBN Governor into this,” Oke stated, urging the Governor to refrain from what he termed political scapegoating and instead, comply with legal directives.
The federal lawmaker held Adeleke’s administration responsible for the difficulties currently being faced by workers and citizens at the local government level, claiming that the governor’s actions, particularly the removal of duly elected APC council officials, were unlawful and detrimental to grassroots governance.
“This hardship is being caused by your administration’s failure to respect the mandate of elected officials,” Oke noted. “You are the one depriving local government beneficiaries in Osun of their constitutional rights.”
He pointed to the ruling by the Court of Appeal, which held that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) had filed their legal challenge in the wrong jurisdiction, thereby rendering the PDP’s attempts to overturn APC’s victory invalid. Oke emphasized that the time allowed for further legal action had expired.
“I personally advised you to heed the court’s ruling, but you chose not to listen. That’s one of the reasons I left the PDP under your leadership,” Oke revealed. “Anyone advising you otherwise doesn’t have your best interest at heart. The law is unambiguous here.”
He urged the governor to immediately instruct local government employees, under the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), to return to their duties and collaborate with the reinstated APC officials until their tenures expire.
“What you need to do now is instruct NULGE to resume work and cooperate with the reinstated APC chairmen and councillors. Their terms must be honored unless they choose compensation instead,” Oke advised. He also called on OSSIEC to begin preparations for new local government elections within 180 days.
Oke further warned that if the reinstated officials insist on serving their full three-year term, the state must pay them all outstanding entitlements.
He also expressed empathy for PDP candidates who participated in the now-nullified local government elections, stating many invested significant personal resources into their campaigns.
“A lot of PDP aspirants went into debt, took out soft loans (owo isobo), and sold assets to fund their campaigns. Now they are suffering. I pray they find relief,” he said, suggesting Governor Adeleke could compensate them by appointing some of them as Special Advisers (SAs) or Senior Special Assistants (SSAs).
Oke emphasized the importance of inclusive governance, asserting that both APC and PDP members are citizens of Osun and deserve competent leadership.
“We all deserve responsible governance regardless of party. Both PDP and APC members are sons and daughters of Osun State,” he concluded. “I come in peace, this is a plea for justice, unity, and adherence to constitutional order.”