By John Moses
A senior member of Nigeria’s ruling party has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in escalating tensions in Osun State following a recent Court of Appeal ruling related to disputed local government elections.
Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a prominent figure in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former state legislator, warned on Sunday that the aftermath of Friday’s court decision had begun fuelling unrest in the state’s 30 local government areas.
Speaking with journalists in Osogbo, Oyintiloye explained that while the Court of Appeal in Akure dismissed the APC’s bid to relist its challenge against a 2022 Federal High Court ruling that invalidated the council elections, it did not explicitly overturn a later judgment that reinstated the sacked officials.
He accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State of misinterpreting the ruling to justify plans to take control of the local government council offices. Oyintiloye cautioned that such a move, planned for Monday, could provoke a violent standoff.
“The APC-elected chairmen and councillors remain in office, and any unlawful attempt to displace them will be resisted,” he said, warning of possible violence if federal authorities fail to act quickly.
The APC chieftain urged President Tinubu to deploy additional security forces to prevent a repeat of the violence that reportedly led to fatalities during similar clashes earlier in the year.
He criticised the state government and PDP members for what he described as “deliberate misinterpretation” of the legal ruling for political gain, insisting that only the Supreme Court can offer final resolution on the issue of council administration and local government funding.
The original legal dispute stemmed from a 2022 challenge by the Action Peoples Party (APP), which questioned the legality of a local election that fielded only APC candidates. That election was later nullified, and the APC’s effort to revive its appeal has now been rejected.
