Following the killing of an Accord Party member and aide of Governor Ademola Adeleke, Olalekan Oyeyemi popularly known as ‘Emir Ajagungbade’, the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has faulted the governor over his directive to immediately transit to a state-run Park Management System, describing it as illegal and unconstitutional.

Oyeyemi, said to be an appointee of Adeleke, was reportedly murdered n a violent power struggle between rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Ile-Ife on Sunday,

Kola Olabisi, Osun APC Director of Media and Information, in a statement, warned Adeleke against appointing leadership of motor parks.

“Mr. Governor is hereby reminded that he is embarking on another illegal and unprofitable venture akin to his illegal use of obnoxious Executive Orders to send packing the legally-elected APC local government council chairmen and councillors in 2022, which decision has now become an albatross of his administration to date.

The legal think tank of Governor Adeleke should inform him that he lacks the constitutional authority to appoint the leadership of the motor parks in the state as such does not fall under the purview of his power as the state governor,” he said.

Agreeing that though the state governors sometimes intervene or attempt to manage parks or transport unions like the NURTW for security or administrative reasons, Olabisi argued that “various court rulings in Nigeria have repeatedly declared direct state takeover or appointment of park managers as an unconstitutional infringement on the local government powers.”

According to him, “It is trite law under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as amended, that the control, establishment and regulation of motor parks fall under the local government councils which is the third tier of government.

Section 7(1) guarantees the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils across the country while the same 1999 Constitution as amended assigns the direct administration and revenue collection of public motor parks to local authorities rather than the federal or state government.”