The Chairman, Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, Mr. Hashim Abioye, has said the planned February 22 local government election in the state would proceed without hindrance.
Abioye, who made this disclosure while addressing journalists in Osogbo on Monday, said the decision of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, though allowed the appeal filed by the chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in the October 15, 2022, local government elections.
The OSSIEC boss, however, said the court only allowed the appeal after declaring the matter instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party against elected APC chairmen and councillors as speculative without a specific order returning the sacked officials to office.
Abioye also referred to another verdict of the Appeal Court in Akure in the matter filed by the APC, Allied People Movement and one other person regarding the last local government election deemed abandoned and dismissed by the court on January 13
He further said, “Today the Court of Appeal struck out the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the conduct of the Osun State local government election in 2022.
“The reasoning of the Appellate Court was that the suit was filed before the Notice of election was issued by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC). It must be noted that it was during the pendency of the said suit before the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo in FHC/OS/CS/94/2022 that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) Law 2022 was enacted and the notice of election was issued.
“The Claimant in the case amended the originating summons to bring the suit in line with the developments that occurred during the pendency of the suit. The Federal High Court delivered its judgment in the suit on November 25, 2022, nullifying the election and sacking the purportedly elected officials.
“The affected political party, All Progressive Congress (APC) and their purported candidates for the election appealed the judgment, and today the Court of Appeal delivered a judgment in the appeal striking out the suit for being speculative. No more to that at the Court of Appeal.
“However, by another judgment of the Federal High Court in suit No.: APP .v. INEC & ORS, the Federal High Court in a judgment delivered on 30th November, 2022 nullified the election and sacked the purported elected officials. The All Progressive Congress (APC), Allied People Movement (APM) and 1 other person appealed the judgment but later abandoned the appeal and same was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on the 13th January 2025.”
Explaining further the implication of the judgement, Abioye added, “To this effect, there is no order returning any purported elected officials of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to office, as there is no Order of any Court reinstating them to office. In particular, there is no Order of any Court stopping the conduct of the election already scheduled by the Commission to hold on 22nd February 2025.”
“In specific terms, the thirty (30) Local Government Areas in Osun State remain vacant till date as there is a substituting decision of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal against the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its purported candidates.”
But while reacting to Abioye’s stand regarding the Court of Appeal judgement, Osun APC Legal Adviser, Adegoke Ogunsola, declared that, going by the verdict, the terms of office of the LG chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of APC in October 2022 have not expired.
Ogunsola, in a statement, insisted that the decision of the court had nullified the decision of the Federal High Court, which wrongly removed the elected chairmen and councillors from office.
The statement read in parts, “Our attention has been drawn to a miscarriage issued by Mr. Hashim Abioye, the purported Chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission which has been captured by the People’s Democratic Party government in Osun State.
“In the said miscarriage of Mr Abioye, he deliberately set out to misrepresent the purport and import of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the appeal decided today, the 10th day of February, 2025 as if the said decision did not reinstate the wrongly sacked APC Local Government Chairmen and Councilors. This is far from the truth as the Court of Appeal in unmistakable language nullified the decision of the Federal High Court which wrongly removed the elected Local Government Chairmen and Councilors from office.
“In the circumstance, no Local Government election can be held by the compromised OSSIEC in February 2025 to overreach the decision of the Court of Appeal and the preserved terms of the oppressed, denied and victimised Local Government Chairmen and Councillors who were duly elected in 2022.”
He urged the members of the public to ignore Abioye and respect the sanctity of the court of law and the Constitution.
Punch
