A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has sharply criticized Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, over what he described as a “deliberate misinterpretation” of the recent Appeal Court judgment concerning the legality of local government elections held in the state.
Speaking during a media briefing in Osogbo, the APC stalwart, who preferred not to be named formally but is a respected figure in the party's southwest leadership, accused Governor Adeleke of “wilfully twisting the court’s decision to suit a partisan agenda,” warning that such actions undermine judicial integrity and democratic principles.
“The Appeal Court ruling is clear,” the APC chieftain stated. “It did not nullify the local government elections conducted by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) in October 2022. Instead, it affirmed that the conduct of the election fell within the lawful purview of OSIEC, and nowhere did the judgment empower the executive arm of the state to dissolve elected local councils.”
Governor Adeleke had recently addressed a state function where he cited the court’s decision as a justification for maintaining the caretaker committee system currently in place in local government councils. His administration had earlier sacked elected council officials shortly after he assumed office in November 2022, a move that has since been challenged in court and decried by opposition voices.
According to the APC chieftain, “This persistent distortion of judicial decisions is a dangerous precedent that further erodes public trust in governance. Governor Adeleke must come clean and stop playing politics with the judiciary.”
He urged the judiciary to step in to clarify the ruling’s scope to prevent what he called “executive overreach and constitutional abuse.”