An Osun State High Court sitting in Ilesa has ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) to proceed with the conduct of Saturday, February 22, 2025 local government elections in the state.
The court directed OSSIEC to conduct elections to fill the vacant positions of local government chairmen and councillors in all the 30 local government areas as well as local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state.
The order issued by Justice A. Aderibigbe on Friday, February 21, 2025, followed a suit filed before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against OSIEC and its Chairman, Hashim Abioye.
LEADERSHIP recalls that violence erupted in the state on Monday following the controversial interpretations of the ruling of a Court of Appeal of February 10 on the tenure of local government chairmen elected on the platform of APC.
While the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed that the verdict of the court reinstated its officials that were sacked by Governor Ademola Adeleke, and the ruling PDP denied the claim.
Some APC political functionaries have since resumed at the secretariats of about 14 local government areas.
Osun State Government has, however, insisted on proceeding with the scheduled local government elections slated for Saturday against the position of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who warned against holding the elections until after the expiration of the tenure of supposedly reinstated local government chairmen later this year.
