Politics

LG crisis: AGF not properly briefed, his action selective—Oyo AG

Published

7 years ago

February 3, 2020

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Oyo State, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, on Monday, stated that the intervention of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on the dissolution of local government leadership in Oyo State was selective and as a result of lack of proper briefing.

Oyewo, who stated this while appearing on a Channels TV programme, Sunrise Daily, maintained that the AGF was not properly briefed on the local government situation in Oyo State.

According to him, the dissolved council chairmen were not properly constituted, having emerged from an election that was held in disobedience to an existing court order.

He said: “If he [AGF] were to be aware of the fact that the matter was sub judice, probably he would not have taken such wanton, liberal interpretation of his powers. His powers are guided by law, by the Constitution of the land and as interpreted by the court.”

Oyewo, a professor of Law and former Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, added that the AGF lacked the power at large to enforce judgment without going through the process of the enforcement of judgment in compliance with the rules of the court that gave the judgment.

He added that Malami’s actions were partisan and not based on the Constitution, noting that though many APC-controlled states were operating Caretaker Committees and had dissolved elected local government leadership, policemen have not been sent to enforce “anybody’s rights as it were.”

Oyewo stated that though his office was not served with the AGF’s later dated 14th January, 2020 and that the letter only came to its notice on 22nd January, 2020, due to the seriousness of the letter, it penned a rejoinder to the AGF in which it made the following facts clear.

“One; there is no such Supreme Court judgment against Oyo State. Two, the Attorney General of the Federation does not have power, at large, to be enforcing judgment without going through the process of enforcement of the judgment in compliance with the rules of the court that gave the judgment.

“As if that was not alarming enough, a letter was written through the Inspector General of Police giving a direction that was supposed to be given to the chairman of APC in Oyo State and the chairman of ALGON to, as it was, reinstate local government and LCDA chairmen who have a matter in court against the Oyo State government. And the matter at that time was, and still is, at the court of Appeal.

“We wrote this to bring to the attention of the Inspector General of Police and, at the same time, we took steps before the proper forum for it to be decided, which is before the court, and that seemed to have untamed the ravaging effort of the Police and the people that they were trying to use.

“As you have heard, there was violence and all that, but carefully an ex parte order was granted against any further action of such parties without any court order that is emanating to give priority to the AGF or the Inspector General of Police to take those actions.”

According to Oyewo, the AGF’s actions were clearly not based on law or the Constitution of the land but purely partisan.

He further said: “Basically, the Attorney General of the Federation will have his reasons but they are not based on the Constitution. They are not based on law, because it [the action] was so partisan. You do not write a letter to the chairman of a party in a state directing the Governor to review. We run a federal system of government. If there is anything, and this has been settled by the Supreme Court, even under the regime of President [Olusegun] Obasanjo, where there was a dispute as to the creation of local governments and the government withheld the funds of Lagos State, the Supreme Court came out. If you have such issues you go to court and that was what we have done.”

Responding to the question on whether Governor Makinde had the powers to dissolve elected local governments chairmen, Prof. Oyewo noted that the election that brought the chairmen in was null and void, as it was conducted against an existing court order, which invalidated the constitution of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission.

He added that the Makinde administration inherited litigations between the sacked APC local government chairmen and the APC-controlled State Government under Senator Abiola Ajimobi and that the existence of a stay of execution on a judgment secured by the sacked chairmen left a vacuum in the local councils.

He stated that Governor Makinde only filled the vacuum pending the resolution of the matters or the time his administration could conduct a proper election into the local governments.

The Oyo AG said: “I think I have to give background to that. Before the present administration came into existence, the previous administration of Governor Ajimobi ran the caretaker committee system for seven years. In the twilight of that administration, against an existing court order that invalidated the composition of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission and also any attempt to use that [OYSIEC] to conduct that election, is null and void.

“Be that as it may, towards the twilight, it was supposed to be a booby trap so that by the time our administration comes in, irrespective of the mandate of the people that there should be a party alternation from APC to PDP, we now had to have an administration of APC at the local governments. Now, that is not even a problem. The matter is, that same APC local government composition went to court against Governor Ajimobi, which is the case that we inherited challenging the State Government because they heard rumours that the Governor wanted to dissolve them.

“Before we came in, the pleadings were there; Ajimobi said ‘I am not going to sack you’ and the matter should have ended there. But for one reason or the other, the judgment was given against the Government and that became the subject matter of appeal. That appeal led to a stay of execution and because there was a stay, there was a vacuum. And, of course, don’t forget that under Section 7 of the constitution, the State Government makes laws and there is the local government law that regulate the activities of Oyo State local governments.

“We must make a distinction in the light of the decisions of the court, between the local government administration and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). The LCDAs basically are inchoate creations within the realm of the arrangement of the State Government. So, a distinction must be made between the LCDAs and the local governments as they were. That distinction has never been made due to the conduct of the affairs as we inherited them. So, it was thought that this administration seems to have inherited an APC infrastructure including those on ground. It was thought let us have an audit, to see what was actually on ground and that was what led to the action of saying that they should step aside and allow some other people take a look at the account and all the affairs of the state and manage them until the matter is resolved. And the moment we resolve the matter of OYSIEC, then we can properly plan for the conduct of the election.”

When asked whether there was a possibility of the sacked chairmen coming back to office, Prof. Oyelowo said what the State Government did was to dissolve them and that if the court eventually pronounces the Government’s action null and void, Governor Makinde as someone who believes in and maintains the rule of law would not act in contravention.

“Of course, the bottom line of it is that the administration of Governor Makinde believes in the rule of law and we maintain it. If a judgment comes out of the court directing as it were that our action is null and void, of course that will be done.”

Prof. Oyewo further maintained that once all the ongoing issues surrounding the local government administration in the State are resolved, the Government would, within a short time, conduct a credible local government election and have the local government system running properly.

He said: “Seriously, some of these matters are not legal matters but political matters that need to have a legal context. What everybody wants is for the State to be able to resolve this matter, both in the aspect of the legality of it and in terms of the political process.

“Within a short time from now, we hope to conduct the election and have the administration properly running. If not for the litigations that are pending, it is something that should have been done almost immediately but we inherited those problems and we have to find a political and legal solution.

“As it is now, the local government matter is at the court of appeal; it is coming up now on the 27th of February. The one that we have got is coming up on the 5th of this month. All things being equal, before the end of the first quarter, everything should be resolved. And we should be able to conduct a free and fair election into the local governments.”

Politics

Adeleke: I Had No Electoral Deal With ADC

Published

6 days ago

August 18, 2026

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OSUN State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has denied having any electoral agreement or partnership with the African Democratic Congress before, during or after the August 15 governorship election.

Adeleke made the clarification on Tuesday in a post on his verified X handle, saying his victory was achieved through the support of God and the people of Osun State.

The governor said the ADC was not part of the political coalition that campaigned and mobilised support for his re-election, describing the group of political allies that worked for his victory as a “rainbow coalition.”

He said, “I had no electoral deal or partnership with the ADC before, during, or after the governorship election.”

Adeleke added that it was important to put the record straight, stressing that the ADC was not part of the coalition that campaigned and mobilised support for his re-election.

“For the sake of history, it is important to clarify that the ADC was never part of the rainbow coalition that canvassed, mobilised, and supported our campaign in the battle leading to last Saturday’s election,” he said.

The governor thanked his political allies for their sacrifices and efforts during the campaign, noting that their commitment contributed to his victory at the poll.

Adeleke, who called for unity after the election, said he remained governor of all Osun residents regardless of their political affiliation, religion or tribe.

“Now that the election is over, I remain the Governor of all Osun people, irrespective of political affiliation, religion, or tribe. My commitment is to unite our people and continue working for the progress and prosperity of Osun State,” he said.

Adeleke defeated the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, and the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, in the keenly contested election.

The governor polled 511,067 votes to defeat Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes, while Salaam secured 17,180 votes.

Adeleke won in 19 of the 30 local government areas in the state, while Oyebamiji won the remaining 11.

Politics

Adeleke Reaffirms Tinubu Endorsement After Osun Victory

Published

1 week ago

August 16, 2026

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Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has renewed his endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027, barely hours after he was declared winner of Saturday’s governorship election.

Adeleke, who secured a second term in office, also commended Tinubu for what he described as his support for a free, fair and credible electoral process.

The governor spoke in Osogbo on Sunday while reacting to his victory, which he dedicated to the people of Osun State.

“At this point, I must deeply appreciate Mr President, His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his strong support for a free and fair election,” Adeleke said.

“Mr President is a son of Osun State. And I hereby reaffirm my earlier endorsement of him for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.”

Adeleke thanked the people of the state for standing by him, saying their resilience and commitment to democracy had helped to produce the outcome of the election.

“In the last few months, Osun people have been under very intense pressure. Today, the issues are settled by the grace of God and the people.

“I therefore dedicate this victory to the good people of Osun State. I deeply appreciate your resilience, your strong will and your unwavering commitment to democracy,” he said.

The governor promised not to disappoint the electorate, saying his administration would build on its achievements and address areas where it had fallen short.

“As you have trusted me again for the second term in office, I will not disappoint you. To serve you better, I will reinforce my strong points and correct my errors,” Adeleke stated.

He also pledged to pursue accelerated development across the state under his renewed five-point agenda.

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke the winner of the election in the early hours of Sunday.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, announced in Osogbo that Adeleke polled 511,067 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.

The candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,180 votes.

A total of 1,005,800 votes were cast across the 30 local government areas of the state, while 985,079 votes were declared valid.

INEC said 1,010,684 voters were accredited for the election, which was contested by candidates of 15 political parties.

Adeleke’s victory secures another four-year term for him and further strengthens his political position in Osun ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Politics

Tinubu tasks INEC, security agencies on credible Osun election

Published

1 week ago

August 14, 2026

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President Bola Tinubu has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies to ensure a peaceful, transparent and credible governorship election in Osun State.

Tinubu made the call in a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, ahead of Saturday’s poll.

The President urged INEC to uphold the integrity of the electoral process and ensure that voters are allowed to freely choose their preferred candidate.

“As the people of Osun State head to the polling units to elect who will govern them in the next four years, I call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure orderly conduct of the election.

“The election must be transparent, free and fair. I urge INEC to ensure the integrity of the process,” he said.

Tinubu also urged the electoral commission to use the Osun election as an opportunity to demonstrate its preparedness for the 2027 general elections.

“INEC must use this last off-cycle election as a test case to demonstrate to Nigerians their full preparedness for the 2027 polls,” the President added.

The President also charged the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and other security chiefs deployed for the election to provide adequate security at polling units and prevent attempts to disrupt the exercise.

“I have charged the Inspector-General of Police and other heads of security outfits taking part in the election to provide maximum security at polling units. No room should be allowed for troublemakers to disrupt the process,” Tinubu said.

He stressed the need to protect voters and electoral officials, urging residents to participate in the election without fear or intimidation.

“Electoral officials and voters must be protected so they can perform their civic duties without fear or intimidation. Voters should feel confident to go out in their numbers to vote for the candidate of their choice, as all measures necessary to ensure a peaceful, free and fair election have been put in place.

“Our elections must be credible, and the outcome of the Osun Governorship election must reflect the will of the people,” he said.

Tinubu further urged voters to exercise their civic responsibility peacefully and avoid actions capable of undermining the conduct of the election.

More than 25,000 security personnel have been deployed across the state for the poll, while INEC has said preparations are on course.

With 15 candidates on the ballot, the election is expected to be keenly contested as voters across the state’s 30 local government areas elect a governor for the next four years.