‘Waste of tax payers’ money’ — Oyintiloye faults conduct of Osun LG poll

Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the local government election conducted in Osun state was a “waste of taxpayers’ money”.

Speaking with journalists in Osogbo, Oyintiloye said the state government would be held accountable for the money spent in conducting the election.

Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC presidential campaign council (PCC), claimed the election was illegal and futile since the court of appeal in Akure had “reinstated” the sacked APC chairmen.

He said the federal government should disburse the monthly local government allocation to the “reinstated APC chairmen” in the state.

Oyintiloye added that the funds would enable them to accelerate development, which had “stalled” at the grassroots since their removal in 2022.

“I want to appeal to the federal government to start releasing the monthly allocation to the APC reinstated council chairmen in the state as from this month,” Oyintiloye said.

“The chairmen were unable to work since 2022 when they were sacked, but now that the Court of Appeal have reinstated them, the allocation should be released to them.

“This is the time for people at the grassroots to feel the impact of government which had been neglected since 2022.

“I want to also commend the IGP for ensuring peace in the state and the way he approached the security challenges professionally.”

The APC chieftain praised the sacked council chairmen for returning to office despite “harassment” by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while imploring LG workers to resume work.

He added that the return of staff would enable the chairmen to focus on governance and provide the essential benefits that grassroots citizens had long awaited.

BACKGROUND

The buildup to the election was marred by violence and controversies, as sacked APC chairpersons sought to return to office on the basis of a court ruling.

The PDP claimed that the February 10 judgment of the court of appeal in Akure, Ondo state, did not reinstate the sacked chairpersons and councillors elected in 2022, while the APC insisted it did.

On February 20, Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, advised Ademola Adeleke, Osun governor, to direct the state electoral commission to halt the process.

Fagbemi said the ousted LGA chairpersons must be reinstated since the court of appeal had dismissed the judgment of the lower court that sacked them.

However, Adeleke insisted the election would proceed as scheduled. The APC and Labour Party withdrew from the vote ahead of polling.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) also called for the suspension of the LG election over a likelihood of violence and security threats.

The Osun state high court in Osogbo would later order the State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) to conduct the election.

In November 2022, the Osun governor directed the heads of LGAs and council development areas to take charge of their councils.

The governor said the decision was in compliance with a federal high court judgment that declared the LG election that brought the chairpersons and councillors into office as “illegal”.

The polls proceeded as scheduled and were all won by the PDP.

At the swearing-in ceremony, Adeleke directed the newly elected chairpersons to avoid local government secretariats “to prevent clashes with those forcibly occupying them with police support”.