The Osun State Government has officially introduced the newly elected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) local government chairmen and councillors to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamsedeen Ogunjimi, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, urging them to recognise the officials as the legitimate representatives of the state’s councils.
The move, which is linked to the administration of local government funds, has sparked opposition from the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has rejected the newly elected officials, describing them as illegally selected and insisting that the rightful council executives were those elected in October 2022.
However, the state government maintains that the newly elected individuals are the legitimate representatives of the local councils.
According to Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Teslim Igbalaye, the letters were necessary to ensure that the federal government and financial institutions interact exclusively with the newly elected officials, citing a subsisting court judgment that had removed the previous council chairmen from office.
The letter stated, “Before the conduct of the 22nd February 2025 local government election, an earlier election had taken place in Osun State on 15th October 2022. However, this election was annulled, and the individuals declared winners at the time were removed from office by an existing Federal High Court judgment in Suit No.: FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 between ACTION PEOPLES PARTY (APP) V. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) & 6 ORS. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against this ruling on 13th January 2025.”
The letter further urged the federal authorities to recognise and work only with the local government chairmen and councillors elected in the fresh poll held on 22nd February 2025, arguing that the officials elected in 2022 had been lawfully removed from office.
However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has strongly criticised the state government’s action, describing it as an attempt to impose “illegally selected council executives” on the people.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the opposition party dismissed the letters as an attempt to legitimise individuals who had not been properly elected.
“For the attention of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Central Bank Governor, we must clarify that the individuals presented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Teslim Igbalaye, are impostors. No election was held to confer legitimacy upon them,” the statement read.
The APC further argued that there was no legal basis for a fresh local government election, citing a Court of Appeal ruling on 10th February 2025, which, according to the party, had reinstated the local government executives elected in October 2022, who had previously been removed by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
The development has deepened the political and legal battle over local government administration in Osun, with both parties insisting on the legitimacy of their claims and seeking federal recognition in their favour.
