‘Sacked Council Chairs Stay Sacked’ – Osun Govt Says Appeal Court Ruling Does Not Change Status

The Osun State Government has clarified that the chairpersons of local government councils dismissed by Governor Ademola Adeleke upon assuming office in 2022 have not been reinstated by the Court of Appeal.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, the government emphasized that the court’s ruling on Monday did not restore the sacked council chiefs to their positions.
The clarification comes in response to a Court of Appeal judgment delivered on February 10, 2025, which dismissed an originating summons filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the validity of the local government elections held on October 15, 2022. The court ruled that the PDP’s case was invalid because the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) had not published the election notice before the suit was filed.
The Osun State Government stated that the dismissal of the PDP’s case does not imply the reinstatement of the sacked council chairpersons. Instead, it pointed to a separate ruling by the Federal High Court, which nullified the October 2022 local government elections. The Federal High Court, in its judgment on November 30, 2022, declared the elections unconstitutional, invalid, null, and void due to violations of the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
The court also struck down sections 25 and 26 of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission Law 2022 for contravening the Constitution and the Electoral Act. This judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal on January 13, 2025, in Appeal No CA/AK/226M/2024.
“The only valid judgment subsisting as of today is the order of the court which nullified the election conducted on October 15, 2022,” the government stated.
The Osun State Government warned against any attempts to disrupt the peace in the state, directing security operatives to arrest and prosecute anyone attempting to forcibly enter local government secretariats. It also urged Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLAs) to ensure that no intruders or political thugs gain access to council premises.
“We urge all our HLAs to ensure that no intruder or political thug is allowed into the premises of any of our local governments in the state. Therefore, anybody who makes an attempt to gain entry into any of the council secretariats should be reported to the security agencies,” the statement read.
The government also confirmed that the local government election scheduled for February 22, 2025, will proceed as planned, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
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