The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that only the Supreme Court can invalidate the February 10, 2025, judgment that reinstated its elected local government chairmen and councillors.
This comes in response to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s celebration over the Court of Appeal’s recent dismissal of a motion by the APC to relist an appeal previously struck out in respect of their elected party members.
In a strongly worded statement on Monday, the Osun APC cautioned Governor Ademola Adeleke and the PDP against what it described as a “wilful misinterpretation” of the June 13, 2025, judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division.
According to the APC’s legal adviser in the state, Adegoke Ogunsola, the appellate court’s recent decision did not overturn its earlier judgment of February 10, which reinstated the APC-elected council officials whose elections had been nullified by a Federal High Court in November 2022.
“The PDP and Governor Adeleke are twisting the facts. The June 13 judgment merely dismissed an application to relist an abandoned appeal. It has no bearing on the February 10 ruling, which remains binding unless set aside by the Supreme Court,” Ogunsola stated.
He emphasized that the APC’s victory in Appeal No. CA/AK/270/2022, which set aside the Federal High Court’s judgment and reinstated APC local government officials elected on October 15, 2022, still stands, as no higher court has nullified it.
Ogunsola condemned what he described as the PDP’s “calculated attempt to undermine judicial authority” and rejected the legitimacy of the PDP’s February 22, 2025, local government elections, calling them “legally non-existent and irrelevant to the issues before the court.”
Meanwhile, the legal impasse has reignited tensions across Osun’s 30 local government areas, which have remained shut down since February amid fierce contestation over control.
Last Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed an APC motion to revive an abandoned appeal previously struck out in January for lack of diligent prosecution.
Justice Peter Obiorah, who delivered the unanimous ruling, said the application lacked merit and its approval would “cause judicial confusion.”
The controversy dates back to the controversial “Yes/No” council elections held on October 15, 2022, under former Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
The elections, which were conducted exclusively with APC candidates, were invalidated by the Federal High Court in Osogbo in November 2022.
The APC later appealed, and though it secured a judgment in its favor on February 10, 2025, the PDP insists the appellate court has now upheld the lower court’s ruling.
While the APC argues that the June 13 dismissal was procedural and did not affect the substance of the earlier judgment, the PDP maintains that the appellate court has, in effect, reaffirmed the illegality of the APC’s October 2022 elections.
In a counterstatement, Hon. Kolapo Alimi, Osun’s Commissioner for Information, insisted that the Court of Appeal ruling validated the Federal High Court’s verdict that sacked the APC-elected officials.
He accused the APC of plunging the state into chaos and called on the party to apologise for what he termed “political brigandage.”
Also speaking, PDP chairman Hon. Sunday Bisi described the APC’s claims as “a disgraceful twist” meant to mislead the public.
He noted that the APC had abandoned its appeal for nearly two years and attempted to revive it without valid justification, an act the court dismissed as a “self-inflicted injury.”
“The only recognised and valid local government chairmen in Osun today are those elected on February 22, 2025,” Bisi declared, reaffirming the PDP’s position.
However, the APC, through its spokesperson Kola Olabisi, dismissed the PDP’s interpretation as false, stressing that the June 13 judgment did not affect the February 10 decision which, according to him, remains the law until reversed by the Supreme Court.
“The PDP’s celebrations are based on lies. There is no court order declaring a vacancy in Osun’s local governments. The February 10 ruling reinstating our officials is still valid and binding,” Olabisi asserted.
He accused PDP officials of attempting to incite unrest through misinformation and called on security agencies to hold them accountable for any breakdown of law and order.
