The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) has been urged to immediately enforce a series of court judgements affirming the legality of the 22 February local government elections in Osun State, which produced 30 chairpersons and 332 councillors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A letter obtained by our Correspondent was dated 23 June and received at the AGF’s office on Monday. It was written by prominent constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, who, acting on behalf of the PDP-elected local government officials, accused the AGF of aiding what he described as an ongoing illegality by backing sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) officials still occupying local council secretariats across the state.

Mr Ozekhome criticised a directive given by the AGF on 26 March instructing the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy that local government allocations be disbursed to the sacked APC officials until the expiration of their purported tenure in October.

“It is not correct that the APC officials are the ones currently running the affairs of Osun State. It is the PDP.

“This letter is therefore to respectfully draw your attention to the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal, Akure Judicial Division, in Appeal No: CA/AK/15/2025, between Allied People Movement & 2 Ors v. Action Peoples Party (APP) & 4 Ors, delivered on 13th June 2025. This decision has finally settled, once and for all, the correct legal status of the contending parties (the APC and the PDP),” Mr Ozekhome wrote.

He alleged that the AGF’s directive emboldened federal security agencies to provide protection for the sacked APC chairmen, allowing them to maintain control of the 30 local government council offices.

Court judgments invalidating the APC tenure

Mr Ozekhome explained that a judgement of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, delivered on 30 November 2022, nullified the APC-led local government elections held on 15 October 2022.

He said the court ruled that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) violated provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 — including Sections 28, 29, 32, 98 and 150 — rendering the elections unconstitutional and void.

He stated further that the court struck down several provisions of the OSSIEC Law 2022 for being inconsistent with the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution, thereby removing the APC officials from office.

According to Mr Ozekhome, subsequent appeals by the APC failed to overturn the judgement. One was struck out for lack of diligent prosecution; another was dismissed without any consequential order restoring the ousted officials.

Appeal Court recognises PDP chairpersons

Mr Ozekhome explained that the Court of Appeal in Akure affirmed the legitimacy of the 30 local government chairpersons and councillors elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State.

He said the legal dispute was resolved by the appellate court’s dismissal of an application by the APC to relist an abandoned appeal—CA/AK/266M/2024—which had challenged the earlier nullification of APC-led councils.

He said the court’s decision, delivered on 13 June in Appeal No CA/AK/15/2025, was a clear admission that no court had ever reinstated or revalidated the tenure of the sacked APC chairmen and councillors.

Mr Ozekhome said the APC had sought to relist the dismissed appeal in a bid to overturn the judgement delivered on 13 January, which upheld the Federal High Court’s ruling nullifying the APC-led local government elections.

But the Court of Appeal dismissed the application unanimously. The lead ruling was delivered by a judge, Peter Obiorah, with Justices Oyebisi Omoyele and Hadiza Shagari concurring.

According to Mr Ozekhome, the court’s pronouncements made it clear that the PDP chairmen validly elected on 22 February were the lawful occupants of the local government offices in Osun State.

Citing the judgement, Mr Ozekhome quoted Mr Obiorah at page 16, paragraph 2 of the lead ruling as stating:

“There being no existing appeal against the judgment of the lower court, the said judgement stands as the authority defining the state of affairs regarding the status of the officers of the various Local Government Councils in Osun State.”

He also referenced the court’s acknowledgment of the Federal High Court’s earlier decision in Suit No FHC/OS/CS/103/2022, which on 30 November 2022 nullified the previous local government elections and sacked all officeholders elected under the APC.

Mr Ozekhome said the appellate court faulted the APC for abandoning its appeal for two years and only returning with a relisting application at a politically convenient moment.

Quoting from the judgement at pages 45 to 49, Mr Ozekhome noted that the court criticised the APC’s conduct, describing it as a failure to diligently pursue justice and an abuse of court process.

“Whatever caused the 3rd Appellant/Applicant and her sacked members to go to sleep for two years… cannot be founded on motives that are altruistic or consistent with the expeditious determination of an appeal,” Mr Obiorah stated.

“The fate that has befallen them is self-inflicted. It is therefore my conclusion that the application lacks merit. It is accordingly dismissed,” he added on page 56.

He noted that Ms Shagari, in her concurring ruling, said: “They went to slumber, and they should remain therein. The law aids the vigilant, not the indolent.”

Mr Ozekhome said the ruling clearly affirmed that the 30 PDP chairmen and councillors validly elected in February must be recognised as the lawful leaders of the local councils.

He called on the AGF to ensure immediate enforcement by removing the APC officials still occupying the council secretariats.

Demands

Mr Ozekhome urged Mr Fagbemi to immediately withdraw the 26 March directive and ensure that local government allocations are paid only to duly elected PDP officials

He requested that federal security agencies — including the Nigeria Police, State Security Service, military, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps — vacate all 30 council secretariats allegedly occupied in support of the sacked APC officials. He advised that those agencies be made to protect the PDP chairmen and councillors.

He warned of rising tensions and threats to public safety, citing ongoing harassment and intimidation of PDP officials by agents of the ousted APC officials.

“It has become urgently necessary to prevent a breakdown of law and order, and to halt the ongoing harassment, intimidation, and possible physical attacks,” Ozekhome said.

He reminded the AGF of his constitutional role as “the symbolic guardian of the rule of law,” and urged him to act with impartiality and uphold judicial decisions.

Conflicting interpretations of the court verdict

Despite the Court of Appeal ruling, both political camps continue to interpret the verdict differently.

The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) faction loyal to the APC — led by Abiodun Idowu — insisted the appellate court judgement did not remove them from office.

In a statement, Mr Idowu said: “There is no vacancy in local government administration in Osun State… The Appeal Court ruling only affirmed the potency of the 10February judgment which reinstated our chairmen and councillors.”

In contrast, the PDP-aligned ALGON faction, led by Sarafadeen Awotunde, argued that the ruling upheld the legitimacy of the 22 February PDP elections.

“The Akure Appeal Court has further confirmed the nullity of the October 15, 2022, APC election,” Awotunde said.

“Osun APC and their chairmen must now accept their fate and respect the rule of law.”

Controversy over LG funds and CBN payments

Meanwhile, the Osun State Government raised alarm on 18 June over alleged plans by federal agencies to pay local government funds into private accounts linked to former APC officials.

In a statement, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dosu Babatunde, accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation of preparing to disburse statutory allocations without input from recognised LG accounting officers.

The state said it had introduced all Heads of Local Government Administration and Directors of Finance to the CBN to process payments, but the CBN rejected the list, raising fears of a deliberate attempt to bypass lawful authorities.

The government called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and warned that it would take legal action against any unauthorised payments.

Reacting, APC-aligned ALGON chairman, Mr Idowu, denied the allegations: “Any money that would be paid would go to the appropriate accounts… Maybe those raising the alarm were not referring to us.”

NULGE, OSSIEC weigh in

Also weighing in, the Osun chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) said only authorised signatories — Directors of Finance and Administration confirmed by the elected Chairmen — should be recognised by financial institutions.

Separately, the Chairman of OSSIEC, Hashim Abioye, defended the conduct of the February 2025 election, saying it complied with constitutional and legal requirements. He said 18 political parties contested, but only the PDP fielded candidates in all 30 LGAs and 332 wards — and won all the seats.

Abioye alleged that the Commission’s office was sealed by security agencies during the election, preventing the issuance of accreditation tags to journalists.

The Osun State Government proceeded with the 22 February election despite opposition from the APC and concerns raised by the AGF and the police, who argued that a 10 February Court of Appeal ruling had reinstated the previously sacked APC officials.

However, the state government insists that no such reinstatement order exists in the judgment, and the matter has since been overtaken by the 13 June ruling of the Akure Division of the Court of Appeal.