Stop Illegal Collaboration with Sacked Yes/No Chairmen — Gov. Adeleke tells UBA
Following a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Osogbo, which dismissed an application seeking tenure elongation for the Osun APC Yes/No chairmen, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called on the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to immediately discontinue any form of support for the sacked local government officials.
The governor made the call during a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital, where he addressed two separate court rulings. The first was the Federal High Court judgment in Abuja concerning the deregistration of some political parties, while the second was the Osogbo judgment rejecting the request for tenure extension by the APC Yes/No chairmen.
Adeleke reminded UBA of an affidavit it had previously sworn to, affirming that all local government funds allegedly diverted remained intact. He stressed that the bank must ensure the complete protection and accountability of the funds, insisting that every kobo belonging to the local governments must be safeguarded.
The governor further urged the bank to recognize and allow the legally designated signatories to operate the local government accounts. According to him, the funds are urgently needed to settle outstanding obligations, including salaries, pensions, and allowances owed to local government workers.
In addition, Adeleke called on the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to direct the Osun State Police Command to withdraw any support being provided to the sacked chairmen. He specifically urged the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, to stop granting security cover for what he described as the illegal occupation of local government secretariats by the affected officials.
While congratulating the local government chairmen elected under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the February 22, 2025 election, the governor appealed to all law enforcement agencies to support the immediate restoration of the elected officials. He maintained that such action would be in line with the provisions of the law and the Constitution.
Speaking on the deregistration of some political parties, Adeleke argued that the Federal High Court’s decision was an affront to the Court of Appeal and amounted to an abuse of judicial process. He noted that legal steps had already been taken to challenge the ruling, pointing out that the Court of Appeal had earlier stayed proceedings on the matter until October this year. He also appealed to residents of the state to remain peaceful and law-abiding.
According to him, “the judgement cannot stay; Accord will be on the ballot; we will be on the ballot ; and we will win resoundingly on August 15th. Our people are reassured that efforts by Osun APC to stop our re-election have failed. Our flag off rally is holding tomorrow. Let us troop out en-masse to grace the occasion. We will not be distracted. We remain focussed on winning”, the Governor enunciated.