Osun LG tenure elongation illegal, undemocratic — Adeleke

GOVERNOR Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, yesterday, described the continuous stay of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chairmen and councillors at the Local Government Council Secretariats as illegal and undemocratic.

The Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON, however, disagreed with Adeleke, urging him to desist from media blackmail and allow the court to determine the tenure issue.

Governor Adeleke, in a state broadcast, declared that self tenure elongation, the APC officials granted themselves across the council in the State is against all known laws of the country, especially since the said council officials admitted to having tenure that expired on October 22, 2025.

He said: “In several filings that have become public documents in our courts, including the Supreme Court, their lawyers and the Attorney-General of the Federation admitted that these APC chairmen and councillors have no claim to office beyond October 22, 2025. 

“To further confirm that their so-called tenure has expired, the APC chairmen and councillors approached the Federal High Court, seeking an extension of their expired tenure. 

“That case has not been heard. But the very act of seeking extension amounts to a clear admission, both in law and in fact, that whatever so-called tenure they claimed they had had expired. Assuming, without conceding, that the APC chairmen and councillors had any tenure, the tenure expired on October 22, 2025.

“Despite these incontrovertible legal facts, they have continued to occupy the local government secretariat by brute force with police protection, allegedly acting on the instructions of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola.

“In a democracy, these APC chairmen and councillors threatened on their various social media platforms that they will continue to occupy the local government secretariats for as long as they want because they claim to have the backing of Oyetola.

“Sometimes, I wonder if we are really under a democratic system of government, where nobody is above the law. In Osun State, it seems that the APC chairmen and councillors, whose so-called tenure has expired, are above the law, by the grace of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola.” 

He urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene by stopping Oyetola from issuing illegal directives to the police.

He said: “Mr President’s name is being used without his knowledge by Oyetola to get the Nigerian Police Force and a bank (names withheld) to obey his alleged illegal directives. 

Your Executive 

Order cause of 

crisis — ALGON Chair

In his reaction, the Chairman of ALGON in Osun State, Mr Abiodun Idowu, said Governor Adeleke’s controversial Executive Order tempering with tenure freely given to council officials is the root cause of the present crisis.

Idowu said: “It is surprising that Governor Ademola Adeleke is now on the side that our tenure has expired, having argued that we do not have any tenure in the first place. For us, we have a tenure in place owing to the Court of Appeal judgement of February 10, 2025.

“We are now before a Federal High Court in Osun State to determine whether the Governor has the right to tamper with that tenure with his Executive Order of November 2022. 

"The police were aware that we are the legally backed council officials since last year and do not need any illegal instruction from anyone, but needed to stay on the side of the law."

“We are in the council secretariats legally as we have approached the court to determine the issue of our tenure, which will come up on February 3, after which we know our position.”