The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has dismissed allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party and a coalition of civil society organisations that its local government chairmen are unlawfully occupying council secretariats across the state.
The controversy followed a statement by the Network of Civil Society Groups, which claimed that the tenure of APC council chairmen ended on October 26, 2025, and called for their immediate withdrawal from all local government offices.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Monday, the network’s convener, Stephen Olanrewaju, accused the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force of providing security cover for what he described as illegally constituted local government executives occupying the secretariats.
The coalition further demanded the immediate removal of police officers from the council premises, arguing that security agencies should not be deployed to sustain what it termed an unlawful occupation of public offices.
Olanrewaju traced the roots of the local government impasse in the state to February 2025, linking it to lingering legal battles over the control and administration of the councils.
“In 2022, the Federal High Court nullified the purported local government elections conducted by the APC-led administration in Osun State and consequently sacked all APC chairmen and councillors purportedly elected from that exercise for failing to meet the required legal provisions,” he said.
He added that the ruling survived appellate scrutiny, stating, “This judgment was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal in a judgment delivered by Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Peter Obiorah and Hadiza Rabiu Shagari on June 13, 2025.”
According to Olanrewaju, despite the court decisions, the affected officials allegedly refused to vacate their offices, claiming a reinstatement order that he insisted was nonexistent.
“Acting on this falsehood, they forcefully occupied local government council secretariats across the state with armed police protection,” he said.
Describing the development as a violation of the law, Olanrewaju maintained that “continued occupation of local government secretariats by tenure-expired and court-sacked officials is illegal and unconstitutional. We urge security agencies to desist from actions he said promoted lawlessness.”
Echoing the civil society group’s stance, the Osun PDP Director of Media, Oladele Bamiji, said the APC chairmen “have no tenure of office and should not be laying claim to any.”
Bamiji appealed to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the matter, saying, “They were sacked by the court and yet they have refused to leave the secretariats. The dangerous part of it is that the Osun Police Command is aiding these APC chairmen.”
He cautioned that the situation could pose a threat to democratic stability, adding, “We are calling on the President to call members of his party to order. Their actions, if not checked, portend dangers for Nigeria’s democratic rule.”
In response, the Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, rejected the accusations, alleging that the civil society coalition misunderstood the legal framework guiding local government administration in the state.
Olabisi described claims that the APC chairmen were illegal occupants as misleading and unfounded.
He maintained that the chairmen were reinstated by a judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on February 10, 2025, which he said was not challenged.
Olabisi also disclosed that a case is currently before the Federal High Court in Osogbo to determine the tenure of the reinstated chairmen and whether fresh local government elections can lawfully be conducted while their tenure subsists.
