The Peoples Democratic Party has firmly rejected any attempts by the sacked local government chairmen and councillors in Osun State, elected under the All Progressives Congress, to force their way back into office.
The PDP stated that the APC must come to terms with the decision and abandon efforts to destabilize the state through violence, misrepresentations, and self-help tactics.
In a statement issued by the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party emphasized that the fate of the ousted local government officials had been sealed by a ruling from the Court of Appeal, which declared their appointments by former Governor Gboyega Oyetola as unconstitutional.
The judgment had nullified what the PDP described as an illegal attempt to install these officials under the guise of an election.
Ologunagba condemned the violence and killings allegedly carried out by suspected APC thugs, particularly targeting youths, and called on the Inspector General of Police to hold APC leaders in Osun accountable for these actions. He urged that those responsible be brought to justice.
The PDP spokesperson also criticized the APC for attempting to gain sympathy by misusing the name of the President in public statements. Ologunagba accused the APC of attempting to undermine the office of the President in a futile attempt to garner support.
He further pointed out that, following the rejection of Oyetola and the APC in the July 16, 2022, governorship election, the party should have accepted the loss and adhered to the law. Instead, the PDP argued, the APC’s attempt to bypass legal procedures and impose its members as local government officials was bound to fail.
The statement stressed that the APC was responsible for its own misfortune, highlighting that disregard for constitutional requirements and local government election laws was ultimately detrimental. The PDP reminded the APC that Nigeria operates a federal system of government, with powers devolved to various sub-national tiers, which must be respected.
“Having been roundly rejected by the people of Osun State in the Saturday, July 16, 2022, governorship election, the then Governor Oyetola and the APC ought to have known that attempting to side-step the laws and manipulate the process to illegally foist APC members and apologists as local government chairmen and counsillors was an exercise in futility which was bound to fail ultimately.
“The APC is the architect of its misfortune. It should have known that disregarding and refusing to comply with the provisions of the Constitution and the Osun State Local Government Election Laws with respect to the requirement on notices, processes and procedures of conducting local government election is destined to be fatal and irreparable.
“The APC should note that our nation operates a federal system of government with clearly entrenched devolution of powers among the federating units as well as the various sub-national tiers of government,” parts of the statement said.
