… Governor’s allegation; display of ignorance — ALGON chairman
TUNDE ADELEKE, Osogbo
Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and stop the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Gboyega Oyetola from weaponising federal institutions against local governments in the state.
Adeleke in a statement by his Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed in Osogbo on Monday, alleged that the All Progressive Congress Chairmen and Councillors are illegally occupying the state secretariat with Police protection on the instructions of Oyetola.
He added that the tenure elongation sought by the APC Chairmen and Councilors contradicts the settled Supreme Court precedents in the case of former Oyo Governor Rashidi Ladoja.
According to him, it is a settled matter of law that the tenure of elected officials in Nigeria cannot be extended by a single day after the expiration of their tenure. The Supreme Court, in the case of former Governor Ladoja of Oyo State, ruled that the governor’s tenure cannot be extended, after finding in his favor that he was illegally removed from office for about 11 months and reinstated him to office.
““In several filings that have become public documents in our courts, including the Supreme Court, their lawyers and the Attorney-General of the Federation admitted that these APC chairmen and councillors have no claim to office beyond October 22, 2025.
“I have formally written to heads of relevant federal security agencies regarding actions that threaten peace, and order in Osun State. It is deeply unfortunate that former Governor Gboyega Oyetola has chosen to weaponize federal institutions, particularly the Nigerian Police Force, and he has equally applied the same to the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) to impose hardship and suffering on the good people of Osun State through alleged illegal instructions”, the governor submitted.
“Mr. President’s name is being used without his knowledge by former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, to get the Nigerian police and the UBA to obey his alleged illegal directives.”
Reacting to the allegations, the Osun State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Abiodun Idowu, described claims by Governor Adeleke as a display of ignorance.
Dismissing allegations of Oyetola’s involvement, the ALGON chairman said local governments enjoyed autonomy, stressing that Adeleke should not use LG matters as a vindictive means to get at Oyetola.
He said, “It’s just a surprise to us for Governor Adeleke to have been saying all those things because earlier, he’d told the people of Osun State we had no tenure at all.
“The Governor and all his cohort have been saying it all along, have been saying it that, uh, there’s no tenure for us, that we don’t have tenure at all, at all. Why is he now referring to tenure termination? Which tenure is he now referring to? That is too funny, to listen to.
“Oyetola is not involved we have autonomy in the local government, we are the tier of government, if Adeleke has any other issue with Oyetola let him go and face him. For a state government to be asking for the allocation of the Supreme Court now is a display of ignorance.”
