Tensions continue to escalate in Osun State as the All Progressives Congress (APC) has pushed back against comments made by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who labeled the party as the aggressor in the ongoing political crisis over local government control.
The stakes in this battle have turned deadly, with the Osun APC claiming that violent clashes have already claimed about 10 lives following attacks they attribute to thugs loyal to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Makinde, who visited Osogbo on Sunday to witness the swearing-in of local government chairmen by his Osun State counterpart, Governor Ademola Adeleke, had urged the APC to seek legal redress rather than take matters into their own hands.
Olabisi’s statement was laced with frustration and anger as he questioned Makinde’s silence amid the wave of violence that has rocked the state. “Where was Governor Makinde when his political ally used the sanctity of the Osun State Government House to incite attacks on our members and chieftains?” Olabisi asked.
He went on to reference specific incidents of violence allegedly perpetrated by PDP loyalists. “Where was Governor Makinde when the political hoodlums of his party killed our reinstated chairman in Ikire, Hon. Remi Abass, in Irewole Local Government? Where was he when one person was killed in Irojo, Ilesa, during the sham local government election held by his party?”
The APC also accused Makinde of turning a blind eye when PDP-aligned thugs allegedly attempted to assassinate party chieftains Engr. Remi Omowaiye, a serving Executive Director at the Federal Housing Authority, and Mr. Tobi Famurewa in Ilesa.
As the crisis deepens, the APC made its position clear: they will not accept lectures on legal processes from Governor Makinde. “We want to make it clear that he is not in a better position to teach the leadership of the APC how to pursue the benefits of the Court of Appeal judgment delivered in Akure on February 10, 2025,” Olabisi concluded.
