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Adeleke Briefs Traditional Rulers, Says No Reinstatement of Sacked Chairmen

Published

11 months ago

March 6, 2025

Eric

Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday held a special briefing session with the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers, affirming that there is no court order reinstating the court-sacked ‘Yes/No’ council chairmen.

The briefing, according to statement by Mallam Olawale Rasheed, was a continuation of the governor’s statewide consultations with elders and opinion moulders on the recent uproar on the leadership of local governments including a visit to Chief Bisi Akande at his Ibadan residence.

At the meeting attended by top traditional rulers under the chairmanship of the Ooni of Ife, Arole Oodua, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, both the Commissioners for Justice (Jimi Wole Bada) and Information (Kolapo Alimi) presented the four judgements to prove to the kings that the court order sacking the chairmen remain valid and in force.

Governor Adeleke in his briefing paper widely shared among the monarchs declared that statesmanship and divine intervention have saved Osun from major calamity, lamenting that “our state just survived a major threat to the democratic space.

“As one of the highly literate communities in Nigeria, we have a duty to avoid misinformation and disinformation, hence my coming here to present all details about the recent local government face off.

“We are all aware that after I defeated Gboyega Oyetola in July 2022, he hurriedly organised a Yes/No local government election. Two political parties, PDP and APP went to Court to challenge the arrangement for the election.

“So there were two separate suits, PDP case was filed before the promulgation of Local Government Election Law of 2022. In both of these cases, the Federal High Court decided that the process and procedure leading to the election was flawed. The court in both cases declared the election null and void and of no consequences and removed the persons who were purported to have been elected through that flawed election.The Court nullified and ordered that those who were purportedly elected vacate the office.

“In the first appeal against the APP judgement which sacked the Yes/No Council chairmen, the APC and the APM filed an appeal but did not pursue the case. They went to sleep as lawyers would say. The respondent in the case which included the PDP, sought to dismount the appeal. So the Court of Appeal dismissed the APC appeal.

“Our fathers, since the appeal was dismissed, the judgement sacking the Yes/No chairmen remains valid. As at today, the sack order has never been vacated by any court of law.

“Now in the second case involving APC V PDP, the Court of Appeal noted that there were four issues for determination and resolved issue 1 and 2 and said; (1) the amendment granted by the Federal High Court when the case was pending was wrong; (2) the second order made by the Court of Appeal in that process was that the case itself was premature and that there was no cause of action. The court consequently resolved that issue 3 and 4 became academic exercise, that is of no value, effect or importance.

“So the Court of Appeal in Akure came to the conclusion that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to have entertained the matter in the first place and then struck out that case that was filled by PDP and made NO ORDER.

“In the 53-page judgment that is in the public domain, there is nowhere an order was made by the Court of Appeal for reinstatement of the sacked chairmen. Even if there was any request for reinstatement, prayer 3 and 4 were described by the Court of Appeal as academic and the court declined to consider them”, Governor Adeleke told the monarchs.

The state governor told the royal fathers that “Osun state was ambushed suddenly by elements within the All Progressives Congress (APC) whose agenda was to burn down the state. Without any basis or foundation in law, the APC executed a deadly plot.

“The evil agenda is to illegally take over the council secretariats based on a court of appeal ruling that has no consequential orders nor contain anything about reinstatement of sacked chairmen.

“I immediately alerted the nation and security agencies in a national broadcast. Yet, nothing was done. We lost seven residents with several others injured. As a responsible leader, I ordered all parties to stay away from the secretariats. PDP members obeyed and the APC Yes /No chairmen defied the directive.

“As if that was not enough, we were shocked to read from the Attorney General of the Federation, advising us to comply with a non-existing court order. Same advice was extended to us by the Inspector General of Police.

“We were in the midst of all these when an order of the state high court mandated the electoral commission to fill the vacancies occasioned by the earlier sack of the yes/No chairmen. The court also ordered security agencies to provide security for the elections.

“Our royal fathers, the local government election was validly held despite intimidation and harassment by security operatives who were taking directives from Mr Oyetola. We have now filled the vacancies in line with the electoral act, court judgements and the constitution of the country.

“I have proceeded to direct the elected officials to stay away from the councils. Our approach is to apply rule of law instead of self help to get the illegal occupants of the Secretariats out of the way. We will not resort to violence. We will allow the law to take its full course.

“I was informed that the newly elected council chiefs and local government workers have dragged the illegal occupants of the council secretariats to court. We await court hearings and rulings.

“We are worried as a government because if you have a court judgement in your favour, there is a procedure for enforcement. The court has a process for enforcement. That process has no room for brigandary and self help as the APC Yes/No chairmen are doing.

“Secondly, why did APC refuse to pursue the appeal filed against the APP judgement that sacked its chairmen? Why did the APC fail to appeal to the Supreme Court when its appeal was struck out by the Court of Appeal?

“In the case of Akure appeal court ruling, PDP has nothing to appeal against to the Supreme Court as there was no consequential order and as the court has directly ignored reinstatement request as mere academic exercise.

“Thirdly, the Supreme Court ruling on Rivers local government election has clearly confirmed that the Osun Yes/No election was conducted in violation of the electoral act and therefore remains null and void. The latest judgement of the apex court affirm that there is no legal ground for the Yes/No chairmen to continue to illegally occupy the secretariats.

“Our royal fathers, you have all the facts before you. There is no reinstatement order as you can see. The Supreme Court came on time to validate the judgement of the Federal High Court which sacked those elected in violation of the electoral act.

“I appeal to our royal fathers to further educate their subjects on the facts of the controversies. We are a community of enlightened citizenry. We should not allow fake news to be weaponized to destroy our dear state”, the Governor noted in his address.

The royal fathers expressed appreciation and support for the state Governor and resolved to educate their subjects and also pass the message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Featured

Death Toll in Kwara Bandits Attack Rises to 170

Published

8 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Eric

No fewer than 170 people have died in an attack by bandits on Woro Village in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The lawmaker representing Kaiama in the Kwara State House of Assembly, Saidu Ahmed, confirmed the death toll on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.

Ahmed, who shared pictures of dead bodies with Reuters, disclosed that villagers fled into the surrounding bushland as the gunmen attacked the community on Tuesday night.

“As I’m speaking to you now, I’m in the village along with military personnel, sorting dead bodies and combing the surrounding areas for more,” Ahmed said.

He added that several people were still missing on Wednesday.

Residents also disclosed that the gunmen, thought to be jihadists who often preached in the village, demanded that locals ditch their allegiance to the Nigerian state and switch to Sharia, Islamic law.

When the villagers pushed back, the militants opened fire during Tuesday’s sermon.

The Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyem, said the police and military have been mobilised to the community for a search-and-rescue operation, but declined to provide casualty details.

Featured

Ex-Benue Gov Suswan Shuns ADC, Joins APC

Published

9 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Eric

Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam, has officially joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State, following his registration at his village in the Logo Local Government Area in the ongoing APC e-registration exercise.

Senator Suswam, who broke away from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last year following disagreement with his successor, former governor Samuel Ortom, who took and retained leadership of the PDP even after leaving office, will be leading his mass following into the APC.

“Moments ago, the former governor of Benue State H.E. Sen. Gabriel Suswam, performed his first duty as a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress APC by registering in his Mbagber Council Ward, in Logo Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria,” a brief statement posted by his media aide, Bartholomew Bede, on his verified social media page, read.

The former governor was captured on the party’s ongoing e-registration platform.

The exercise was conducted by the state organising secretary, James Ornguga, and Angura Bishop.

Ornguga, on behalf of the state chairman, presented the new membership card to Suswam.

Gov ‘Expelled From PDP’

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has distanced itself from the defection of the former governor from the PDP, noting that he had long exited the party when he led his followers to relaunch the African Democratic Congress in Benue.

The statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Tim Nyor, said the claim making the rounds that Suswam decamped from the PDP into the APC was false.

It revealed that the former governor had long fallen within this category of members who had failed to pay membership subscription for a continuous period of 12 months, and was “accordingly, expelled from the PDP during the period of his active and open association” with the ADC.

“By implication, one cannot resign from a party of which one is no longer a member,” it said in the statement.

“First, the purported resignation is coming several months after Senator Suswam had left the PDP and repeatedly aligned himself with a political coalition outside the party. This alignment was neither subtle nor speculative.

“He attended multiple meetings of the coalition, actively participated in its public unveiling in Benue State, and went as far as donating personal property for use as its secretariat, after evicting the PDP from the same premises.

“In light of these overt actions, it raises a fundamental question as to why Senator Suswam had to address his “resignation letter” to the PDP at this stage, rather than to the political platform he had clearly embraced long before now.

“Secondly, pursuant to Section 8 of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party, any member who fails to pay membership subscription for a continuous period of twelve (12) months automatically ceases to be a member of the party.

“Senator Suswam had long fallen within this category and was, accordingly, expelled from the PDP during the period of his active and open association with the African Democratic Congress (ADC). By implication, one cannot resign from a party of which one is no longer a member,” the statement added.

Featured

Expert Tasks Youths on Education, Skills Acquisition

Published

23 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Eric

‎The Special Adviser to the Delta State Government on Entrepreneurship Development, Donald Peterson has tasked youths to be prepared for their future and acquire skills relevant to the demand of today’s market.
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‎He spoke at Youth Empowerment forum in Asaba via his non governmental organization outfit, D-Peterson Foundation.
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‎Donald Peterson who has built a reputation within Nigeria’s development and public policy space, stated that Nigerian youths should dig deep within and arm themselves with the required discipline and skills acquisition to become a better version of themselves.

“The future awaits only those that prepare themselves and you need to do prepare yourself with the right skills to forge out a career and not give excuses why you cannot attain at your dreams,” says Peterson.
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‎The professional with a background spanning academia, governance and nonprofit leadership, operates at the intersection of policy formulation and grassroots implementation working closely with state institutions and local communities to translate entrepreneurship policies into practical programmes aimed at job creation, small business development and inclusive economic participation across Delta State.
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‎Peterson who is the President and Founder of the NGO, D-Peterson Foundation, dedicated to education, youth development and community empowerment, has implemented structured interventions supporting access to higher education, vocational and digital skills training, as well as small business grants—particularly targeting women and young people. Its impact has grown steadily, attracting attention as Nigeria continues to confront challenges related to youth unemployment, educational gaps and economic inclusion.
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‎Speaking during the foundation’s 2025 Yuletide outreach programme, Peterson says, “The organisation was established in response to an urgent need for practical, community-based solutions. He noted that the foundation prioritises long-term impact over short-term relief, with a deliberate focus on equipping beneficiaries with skills and resources that promote self-reliance and sustainability.”
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‎Peterson has also been vocal about the role of nonprofit organisations in national development. He argues that Nigeria’s social and economic challenges are too complex for a single approach, stressing that complementary initiatives can help reach underserved communities while fostering collaboration rather than competition within the development sector.
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‎An academic by training, Peterson holds degrees in economics, business administration and finance from institutions in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.