The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has dismissed allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a coalition of civil society groups that its local government chairmen are unlawfully occupying council secretariats across the state.
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The controversy arose after the Network of Civil Society Groups claimed that the tenure of the APC council chairmen ended on October 26, 2025, and called for their immediate withdrawal from all local government offices.
Addressing journalists on Monday in Osogbo, the network’s convener, Stephen Olanrewaju, also accused the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force of offering protection to what it described as illegal executives occupying the council secretariats.
The group also demanded the immediate withdrawal of police personnel from the secretariats, insisting that security agencies should not be used to enforce what it termed unlawful occupation of public offices.
Olanrewaju traced the local government crisis in the state to February 2025, linking it to unresolved legal disputes over council administration.
“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.
Olanrewaju added that the decision was upheld on appeal, saying, “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.”
He alleged that despite the court rulings, the sacked officials refused to vacate office, claiming a reinstatement order which, according to him, did not exist.
“Acting on this falsehood, they forcefully occupied local government council secretariats across the state with armed police protection,” he said.
Describing the situation as unlawful, Olanrewaju stated 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.”
Aligning itself with the civil society position, 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 called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene, stating, “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 warned that the situation could undermine democratic governance, 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.”
Reacting, the Osun APC spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, dismissed the allegations, accusing the civil society group of lacking understanding of the legal issues surrounding local government administration in the state.
Olabisi said it was gross misinformation to describe the APC chairmen as illegal occupants.
He insisted they were reinstated by a Court of Appeal judgment delivered on February 10, 2025, which he said was not appealed against.
He disclosed that a suit is currently pending before the Federal High Court in Osogbo to determine the tenure of the reinstated chairmen and whether fresh elections can be conducted during the subsistence of their tenure.
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