Representatives of the Governor Ademola Adeleke and former Governor Gboyega Oyetola clashed on Monday over the legality of local government election and court judgements in Osun State.
Osun State Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, blamed Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, for orchestrating what he described as a deliberate move to install illegal council officials before exiting office in 2022.
“It’s quite unfortunate that we are experiencing what we are experiencing in Osun State. If you look back, the architect and the person who caused all these problems is the former Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola.
“After losing the July 16, 2022 governorship election, he decided to conduct a local government election despite being on his way out,” Alimi alleged.
He said that the election held on October 15, 2022, was conducted in violation of the Electoral Act which mandates a 360-day notice for such poll.
He noted that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) proceeded with a 60-day notice, despite resistance from political parties.
“All political parties warned OSIEC that what they were about to do was illegal, but it insisted and went ahead with the election,” he alleged.
Alimi added that the PDP challenged the conduct in court, but the case was struck out due to a defective originating summons.
He, however, insisted that the technical dismissal did not validate the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government at the time.
On his part, Adebayo Adeleke, former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under Oyetola, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had no grounds to challenge the elections simply because some parties chose not to participate.