Press Room
February 3, 2025
Basiru: A’Court Reinstating Democratically Elected LG Chiefs in Osun Welcome Devt
National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, has welcomed the judgment of the Court of Appeal reinstating the democratically elected local government councils dissolved by the Osun State Government under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement yesterday, Ajibola said, “This judgment is a triumph of the rule of law and the sanctity of the electoral process as it reestablishes the well- enshrined principle that no government, however powerful, can unilaterally and arbitrarily set aside the will of the people and violate the Constitution.
“I commend the judiciary for upholding justice and ensuring that democracy is protected at all levels of governance. However, I strongly condemn the statement by the Osun State Commissioner for Information, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, which falsely claimed that the Court of Appeal did not reinstate the duly elected local government chairmen, vice-chairmen, and councilors who were unlawfully removed from office by the Adeleke led Government.
“This deliberate misrepresentation of the court’s judgment is an affront to the rule of law and exposes the Osun State Government as an enabler of illegality.
“Ordinarily, it is expected that Alimi, a putative lawyer, ought to know that there is a presumption of the validity and bindingness of a judgment of the Court until it is set aside.
“The only option open to a party dissatisfied with the judgment of the Court of Appeal is to challenge it by appealing to the Supreme Court. Neither Alimi nor the Osun State Government can sit on appeal over this judgment. This is elementary law.
“The Court of Appeal judgment considered all grounds of appeal raised in CA/AK/270/2022 against the judgment of the Federal High Court (Justice N. Ayo-Emmanuel), which had nullified the local government elections and ordered the elected officials to vacate office.
“In allowing the appeal, all the reliefs sought by APC were granted, including setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court and ordering the restoration of the sacked local government councils back to office.
“The Court of Appeal’s decision explicitly affirms the illegality of the dissolution of the democratically elected local government councils in Osun State.
“The judgment has no ambiguity whatsoever, and any attempt to distort this clear judicial pronouncement amounts to executive lawlessness, which has no place in a democratic society,” said former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Osun State.