• Apathy, heavy security as council workers resume after 11 months
• Rep condemns alleged harassment, detention of council worker
• Religious leaders pray for Adeleke’s re-election, NLC lauds gov
Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state government of deliberately inducing legal crises to undermine elected local council officials.
The party, therefore, urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to intervene urgently in the matter.
Meanwhile, local council workers resumed duty across council secretariats yesterday, after an 11-month strike, with heavy security deployment observed at various offices.
A member of the House of Representatives, Bamidele Salam, condemned the alleged harassment, unlawful detention and public humiliation of an Egbedore Local Council worker in the state.
This was as religious leaders from various denominations in the state gathered yesterday, praying for the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 8, 2026, governorship election.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo yesterday, the APC Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, said the controversy stemmed from a February 10, 2025, Court of Appeal judgment, which nullified an earlier decision that had removed APC elected chairmen and councillors across the state.
Lawal, who stated that the court judgment was never appealed by the state government, yet it was allegedly ignored, added that the reinstated chairmen and councillors resumed duties on February 17, 2025, in line with the ruling.
He alleged that “the refusal to accept the judgment led to coordinated attacks on reinstated council officials on the same day, during which the then Chairman of Irewole Local Council, Remi Abbas, was killed.”
He also accused the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the state of joining the state government to compel workers to stay away from work.
He stated: “The state government later conducted a purported local council election on February 22, 2025, based on a five-month notice, an exercise the APC had challenged in court and which remained pending.”
Lawal alleged that multiple suits were subsequently filed by the state government in different courts over the same subject matter already determined by the Court of Appeal, describing the development as an abuse of court processes.
He called on NJC to “act swiftly on petitions submitted against judges involved in the matter, as timely action will strengthen public confidence in the judiciary and discourage resort to violence.”
Members of NULGE embarked on the industrial action on February 16, 2025, following a dispute between the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over control of the local councils.
A tour of many council secretariats by The Guardianshowed a strong security presence, with police patrol vehicles stationed at the entrances of the councils to maintain law and order.
The offices also recorded a low turnout of workers yesterday as they resumed duty after an 11-month sit-at-home directive, as only a few workers were seen.
Workers were screened by police personnel at the entrance of the council before they were allowed in.
However, the workers declined to speak with newsmen when approached to share their experiences about the resumption.They said they were strictly instructed not to speak with the press.
Chairman of Osun NULGE, Dr Kehinde Ogungbangbe, expressed satisfaction over the resumption by union members across the state.
However, he accused the police of bias, allegingthat security operatives allowed APC council chairmen into the secretariats despite earlier warnings that their presence would not be tolerated.
Speaking on behalf of the APC council executives, Adegoke Ogunsola denied police bias but noted that security operatives only backed legality.
Salam was reacting to a viral video and photographs circulating on social media where a council worker in Egbedore, identified as Taiwo Adebayo, was being humiliated by some politicians.
The lawmaker, who represents Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Ejigbo Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, accused certain politicians of abusing power and undermining the rule of law in the state, allegedly with police backing.
In a statement yesterday, Salam called for urgent intervention from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, including the withdrawal of officers on illegal duties in Osun local councils.
The religious leaders conducted the special supplication at a prayer session organised by the state government in Osogbo. The prayer is a yearly ritual.
The clericscommended the delivery of good governance by the governor and invoked many verses of the Bible and Qur’an to justify the need for the re-election of the governor.
The Chief Imam of Osogbo land, Sheikh Musa Animasahun, and the State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr John Adeleke, saluted the devotion of the governor to God at every opportunity and invoked divine intervention on the challenges facing the state.
Also, labour leaders led by the Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Abimbola Arapasopo, spoke at length about the many accomplishments of Governor Adeleke and reaffirmed the resolution of the labour movement to vote en masse for his re-election on August 8.
The labour chief warned against ongoing harassment of the local government workers by the APC and the police, declaring that no amount of intimidation would stop labour’s support for the governor.
