Governor Adeleke Briefs Traditional Rulers, Says No Chairman Was Reinstated By The Court

Governor Ademola Adeleke today held a special briefing session with the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers, affirming 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 on the leadership of local governments 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 the four judgements to prove to the kings that the court order sacking the chairmen remain valid and in force.

Governor Adeleke in his briefing declared that statesmanship and divine intervention have saved Osun from 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, PDP case was filed before the promulgation of 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 was flawed. The court in both cases declared the election null and void and of no consequences 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 the 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 respondent 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 at 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 issue 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 issue 3 and 4 became academic exercise, that is 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 that case that was filled by 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, prayer 3 and 4 were described by the Court of Appeal as academic and the court declined to consider them”, Governor Adeleke told the monarchs.