By Ayo Ayodele
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has renewed his attack on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, accusing him of masterminding the lingering local government crisis in the state and urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene.
In a statement issued on Monday by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the governor insisted that the tenure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) local government chairmen lapsed in 2025 and cannot be extended under any law or Supreme Court precedent.
Adeleke faulted a statement attributed to Oyetola through his special adviser, describing the former governor as the “chief architect” of the paralysis at the local government level and the hardship currently being experienced by residents of the state.
The governor maintained that the APC chairmen were not sacked by his administration but by a Federal High Court judgment delivered in 2022, which was later upheld by the Court of Appeal. He noted that the appellate court also affirmed that duly elected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmen and councillors had already been sworn into office.
According to Adeleke, the courts removed the APC chairmen because the local government election conducted under Oyetola violated the Electoral Act, which requires at least one year’s notice before such polls. He questioned the motive behind conducting the election shortly after Oyetola lost his re-election bid in 2022, insisting that the minister should bear full responsibility for the current crisis.
While accusing the APC of refusing to vacate office despite court rulings, Adeleke also alleged that Oyetola ensured the seizure of Osun local government allocations. He said his administration nevertheless continued to ensure regular payment of salaries to local government workers, questioning why the minister would prefer workers to suffer after blocking statutory funding.
The governor expressed shock at Oyetola’s denial of paralysis in the councils, describing it as an insult to traditional rulers whose salaries were unpaid, local workers surviving on reduced earnings, and council staff who were allegedly molested and harassed by APC loyalists.
Adeleke further questioned the authority under which Oyetola and the court-sacked chairmen were allegedly disbursing local government funds, asking why salaries of local health workers, teachers and retirees had not been paid.
He warned that the minister, the affected banks and the sacked chairmen would be held accountable for any mishandling of council funds, describing the situation as “daylight robbery of people’s money.”
Describing the minister’s stance as an attempt to escape reality, Adeleke rejected the argument that being in court confers the right to remain in office or access public funds after tenure expiration, stressing that tenure elongation is forbidden by the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings.
The governor, who said he remains a strong advocate of local government autonomy, accused Oyetola and the APC of undermining grassroots democracy by imposing unelected officials, disobeying court orders and violating financial regulations guiding local governments.
He called on Oyetola to stop dragging President Tinubu into the crisis, urging him to lift what he described as a siege on Osun local government secretariats, withdraw “tenure-less” chairmen from council offices, stop issuing illegal directives to security agencies and allow normal governance to return.