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DEATH has headlined a chain of bizarre events happening in quick succession in Osun State. Six people were killed on February 17 as local government chairmen and councillors of the All Progressives Congress, sacked by a High Court in Osogbo in 2022, tried to regain office. Many more were injured.
Barely 48 hours later, the council leaders, buoyed by an Appeal Court ruling on February 10, took control of the secretariats.
However, in two days, a new set of leaders from the Peoples Democratic Party emerged following an election on February 22. The APC withdrew from the election. The new leaders were inaugurated but asked not to resume at the occupied secretariats.
In five days, Osun was a riotous picture of anarchy. What played out was an affront to democracy and a shameful commentary on the 65 years of Nigeria’s political evolution.
The state now has two sets of council leadership, but which one is in charge or has the backing of the law?
The Nigeria Labour Congress in the state asked its members to stay at home, fearing violence. This is bad for governance and business and hurts investment. Osun and its people are the losers. They deserve better.
Unbridled ambition has brought the state to the edge of a precipice. The ruling PDP and opposition APC must be held liable.
The seed of the crisis was sown in October 2022 when the council election was hastily held barely a month before the end of then-Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s one term. The court nullified the election under his successor, Governor Ademola Adeleke. The APC appealed and on February 10, the case was struck out for incompetence and lack of jurisdiction.
The Action Peoples Party also got a similar judgement, which cited non-compliance with the Electoral Act. But rather than quell the crisis, the ruling aggravated it.
While the APC claims the appellate court reinstated its council leaders, the PDP says the higher court in Akure made no such pronouncement. This is unfortunate. Court rulings must be clear and unambiguous.
A governorship election is due next year in Osun, while the presidential poll is billed for 2027.
Adeleke needs the local councils to remain in office, while Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, may count on the state’s grassroots tier to return for a second term and help the APC win it in 2027.
Power is to politicians what the smell of blood is to sharks. In this brazen lust, common sense is often lost. Not even death can get in the way.
The horrendous killing of Remi Abbas, a council chairman, and five others on February 17 did not stop the APC from making another push for the council secretariats. Nor did it stop the PDP from holding the council election on February 22.
Both parties are unwilling to concede any ground. A judicial intervention is required. Sadly, the judiciary sometimes appears to muddy the waters rather than clear them.
President Bola Tinubu has not uttered a word on the crisis but the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, seems to have spoken loudly enough for the President.
Fagbemi refrained from weighing in on the upheavals in the Lagos Assembly but found his voice to ask Adeleke to stand down the council poll in deference to the Appeal Court ruling. This was music to the ears of APC supporters but a stinging blow to the head of the PDP crowd.
The AGF should be neutral and not pander to the perceived interests of Tinubu and the APC.
Force spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi asked Adeleke to suspend the election and consider Fagbemi’s advice. This is not professional and unbiased counsel. It is part of a political game that the Osun people do not need. They need peace now.
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