Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has accused his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola, of using federal institutions and banks to enable illegal extensions of tenure by local government chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
But in a swift reaction, the Osun APC dismissed the governor’s claim, accusing him of dishonesty.
In a state broadcast on Monday, Adeleke alleged that some APC chairmen and councillors continued to occupy council secretariats beyond their statutory tenure, with police protection, acting on Oyetola’s directives.
He demanded the intervention of resident Bola Tinubu to resolve the matter.
“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, it expired on October 22, 2025,” Adeleke said.
He further accused Oyetola of weaponising federal institutions, including the Nigerian Police Force and the United Bank for Africa, to impose hardship on residents and enable the unlawful occupation of councils.
“I have formally written to heads of relevant federal security agencies regarding actions that threaten peace and order in Osun State. It is deeply unfortunate that former Governor Oyetola has chosen to weaponise federal institutions… and the UBA to impose hardship and suffering on the good people of Osun State through alleged illegal instructions,” the governor said.
Adeleke warned that Oyetola was using the president’s name without his knowledge to enforce these directives.
Reacting, howwever, the Osun APC dismissed Adeleke’s claims as misinformation. In a statement signed by Director of Media, Kola Olabisi, the party argued that Adeleke failed to acknowledge that the Court of Appeal judgment of February 10, 2025, reinstated council chairmen and councillors elected on the APC platform, a ruling that Adeleke did not contest at the Supreme Court.
“One would have expected a state executive that would be honest enough to disclose that apart from tenure determination, the reinstated APC council chairmen and councillors are also questioning the legality of another election conducted into the councils during the subsistence of their tenure,” Olabisi said.
The party also refuted Adeleke’s claim that federal allocations to councils were being withheld.
Olabisi noted that ongoing litigations led by the Adeleke administration and its allies were delaying payments to the reinstated APC officials.
The APC urged Adeleke to stop meddling in local government affairs, highlighting that the Supreme Court granted full autonomy to local councils.
The party warned the governor against blaming Oyetola for perceived shortcomings in his administration.
“Governor Adeleke should stop acting as a meddlesome interloper in local government affairs. He lacks locus standi to make a case for them, in the spirit of complete autonomy granted by the Supreme Court.
“We also want to impress it on Governor Adeleke to henceforth stop blaming his inability to perform effectively on our leader, the immediate-past governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, whose achievements in various sectors are verifiably written in gold,” Olabisi said.
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