Politics

IG Squads Occupy Secretariats As Osun LG Poll Crisis Rages

Published

4 months ago

February 24, 2025

As the political crisis in Osun State over the control of local government continues to rage, the tactical squad deployed by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, will remain at the LG secretariats, The PUNCH has gathered.

An impeccable source in the police, who spoke anonymously for lack of authorisation, said the tactical team had the IG’s mandate to man the secretariats for two months.

The political crisis deepened on Sunday as the All Progressives Congress vowed to take measures to prevent newly sworn-in local government chairmen of the Peoples Democractic Party from accessing council funds.

This comes after Governor Ademola Adeleke swore in the chairmen and councillors elected in Saturday’s local government election.

In the Saturday election, candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party won in all the Osun local government, the APC having withdrawn from the exercise.

The APC had cited a recent Court of Appeal judgment, reportedly reinstating the APC LG chairmen elected and sacked in 2022.

The APC LG chairmen had last week taken over the LG secretariat, insisting that they had been reinstated.

Though the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, warned against the conduct of a fresh LG poll, referencing the appeal court judgment, reinstating the APC LG chairmen, Governor Adeleke went on to conduct the fresh LG poll on Saturday.

At the swearing-in on Sunday, Adeleke directed the new PDP LG chairmen and councillors not to resume yet at their various council areas, to prevent clashes with “those whom the police had aided to forcefully occupy the local government secretariats.”

Meanwhile, a leader of the APC in Osun confided in The PUNCH that they would write to the banks to freeze the accounts of the local government, so that the new PDP LG chairmen would not have access to funds.

Speaking on the steps the APC will take against the new PDP LG chairmen, a former Special Adviser on Education to ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Mr Jamiu Olawumi, told The PUNCH that the reinstated chairmen and their councillors would move to stop the PDP chairmen from accessing the funds of the councils.

He also said the chairmen would issue a directive for council workers to resume duty under the leadership of APC-elected chairmen, who were declared winners in the October 15, 2022, election.

“We will continue to go to the office. We will write to all the regional managers of banks in Osun to tell them that there has been a change of leadership in the local governments.

“We want to notify them that very soon, we will approach them to effect a change of signatories to the accounts of councils,” Olawumi stated.

He warned banks against recognising the PDP chairmen, describing them as “persona non grata,” and cautioned that any financial institution that took sides with them did so at its risk.

“We also implore regional managers of banks in Osun State not to join them in any game that can cause them imprisonment because power has changed in the local government, enforced by the Federal Government as a result of the Court of Appeal judgment.

“They should not deal with ward congress men of the PDP. They are persona non-grata. They don’t have any access to the local governments. So, any regional manager who sides with them is doing it at the risk of his bank and his job.

“We are ready to fight for this as we have always done. The appeal to the general public is to continue to transact with the local governments.

“Chairmen and secretaries are there to attend to you in a peaceful atmosphere that has been provided by the law of Nigeria and the Federal Government,” Olawumi said.

Olawumi also said the chairmen would recall local government staff who had since Monday stayed away from their duty posts to avoid being caught in the web of the political crisis in the state.

“We will also place a public service announcement that all local government officials should resume work.

“We are aware of the instruction of Governor Ademola Adeleke to his ward congress election winners that they are calling chairmen of local government that they should not go to office tomorrow (Monday) until there is peace.

“There is peace already because the Court of Appeal has given us peace in Osun. It is only the government of Osun under his leadership that is rupturing the peace.

“Also, they can’t come to the council because there is no vacancy in the local governments. Our appeal to the career leadership of the local governments is to call their colleagues who are staff of local governments to resume.

“The Federal Government has provided enough security and it’s adequate for us,” he said.

Responding, the Osun PDP Director of Media, Oladele Bamiji, dismissed APC’s plans as mere wishes.

He said, “We don’t think that they would be so unreasonable. There are litigations here and there unless they want to start another controversy. If they do anything contrary to what is on the ground, we will now see what to do.

“I just hope they know what they are doing because the local government does not just stop at the local council alone; there are other layers of governance that deal with local government, and I hope they realise that local government is not just about the chairman alone.

“We have other civil servants that are also signatories to the account. All this gallivanting does not show them as moderate or civilised enough to even know the procedures in the administration of the local government they are trying to administer,” he said.

The PDP spokesman added, “We are ready for everything, and we will be treating every issue as it comes. Where we are is where we are. The election has been held, winners have emerged, and we take things up from there.”

Multiple security sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The PUNCH said operatives attached to the tactical teams of the Inspector General of Police, who were deployed in the state would remain in Osogbo until further notice.

This, the sources said, was to ensure security at local government secretariats in the state.
(PUNCH)

Related Topics:Osun Osun LG Crisis Osun LG poll

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Politics

Amaechi Slams Tinubu’s Policies In Fresh Outburst

Published

11 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Former Minister of Transportation and two-time governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the coalition opposition to kick President Bola Tinubu out of office if Nigeria is to escape its deepening economic crisis.

In a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, Amaechi, a founding member and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, lamented the country’s deteriorating condition and signalled his willingness to help forge a new opposition coalition to rescue the nation.

“People are dying. People are starving. I myself am feeling the effects of hunger,” he said, painting a grim picture of life under the current administration.

Amaechi’s statement comes in the wake of the APC’s recent endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027, a move Amaechi openly questioned.

While reiterating his loyalty to the party, he warned that fidelity to a political platform should never come at the cost of national conscience.

“If the government is failing the country, you don’t just go along because you’re in the same party. You know that’s not right,” he stated emphatically.

Though he stopped short of confirming a 2027 presidential bid, the former minister said the option remained on the table.

“Certainly, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution,” he added, hinting that his political journey may not yet be over.

He spoke of widespread poverty, spiralling food insecurity, and daily tragedies that now dot the national landscape.

Reflecting on his years as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi lamented that the number of out-of-school children then pegged at 10 million, had since ballooned.

The economic hardship, he said, had also deepened insecurity.

“The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a religious crisis. Many of those involved are driven by desperation and hunger,” he asserted, linking terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping to a broader socioeconomic collapse.

Amaechi’s declaration added momentum to an emerging political realignment.

Talks were already underway among key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as they explored the possibility of a unified front against Tinubu in 2027.

Even ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and once a key Tinubu ally had signalled interest in backing an opposition alliance.

But as opposition forces stir, the ruling party continues to absorb defectors, prompting fears of Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state, a scenario Amaechi warned could undermine democracy and silence dissent.

“We’re thinking that if we come together and win the election, the country will certainly witness change,” he said, suggesting an urgent need for a credible alternative.

Politics

UNN Best Graduate Wins £33,000 Com

Published

13 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

A student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s with the overall best graduating CGPA of 4.98, Chizoba Ejiofor, has secured a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship.

Education advocate and tech entrepreneur Alex Onyia, who made this known on social media on Thursday, said he had taken responsibility for supporting Ejiofor after the university failed to award him the promised N50,000 prize for academic excellence.

“I have a good news. A very good news. You remember Chizoba Ejiofor, who graduated as UNN overall best graduating student with CGPA of 4.98, that UNN refused to fulfill the N50k price promised to him?

“I took him up as a full responsibility. We started working tirelessly together since last year to secure a fully funded scholarship, and today we have the good news,” Onyia wrote.

Onyia revealed that Ejiofor was awarded a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship, valued at over £33,000. The package includes tuition, flight tickets, and monthly stipends.

“This is fully funded scholarship from Commonwealth. Over 33 thousand pounds in scholarship, flight tickets and monthly stipends inclusive. No one can describe how happy and fulfilled I am today,” he added.

Politics

Nigeria No Longer A Democracy, Peter Obi Laments

Published

13 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has lamented the state of Nigeria’s democracy, saying the country no longer qualifies to be regarded as a democratic nation.

Obi, in a speech commemorating Democracy Day on Thursday, said the core elements of democracy are absent in the current system of governance in Nigeria.

“Most unfortunately in our present state, our dear country Nigeria cannot be classified as a democratic country. Democracy is said to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Yet, none of these three measures exist in our democracy today,” Obi said.

Obi criticised the electoral process, noting that rules and requirements for participation are routinely violated.

“People who are not qualified and ought to be disqualified are now holding public offices,” he said.

Reflecting on the symbolic significance of June 12 in Nigeria’s democratic struggle, Obi expressed concern that the country, under the current administration, has seen a broad erosion of democratic values in just two years.

“It is deeply troubling that under the present administration, in a short span of two years, our nation has witnessed a broad erosion of democratic principles,” he said.

He highlighted a corresponding deterioration in security, economic stability, and social services, including education and healthcare.

“We have traversed from rigged elections to collapsing social service, from soaring poverty to rising corruption, and from a seemingly stable economy to a parallel economy,” Obi stated.

Obi accused the federal government of manipulating public perception rather than addressing the challenges facing the nation.

“Rather than show genuine accountability and measure good progress, [the government] focuses on manipulating the narratives, gaslighting the public, shifting blame, and weaponising governance,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor also cited economic statistics to back his claims.

According to him, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has fallen from $364 billion in May 2023 to $188 billion, while per capita income has dropped from $1,640 to $835.

“Nigerians living in poverty have increased from 38.9% to 54%. Within this period, 129 million Nigerians now live below poverty line,” he added.

He noted that a World Bank report showed that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas now live below the poverty line.

Obi also decried the state of education and healthcare.

“Today, we have 18.3 million children out of school, the highest in the world. Our children are now being taught science without science labs and computer without computers. They are now taking exams in darkness with candles,” he said.

On healthcare, he quoted the National Primary Health Care Development Agency as saying that less than 20% of over 30,000 primary health care centres across the country are functional.

“I recently visited some where there are delivery rooms without toilets,” Obi added.

He concluded that the country is “declining fast in all its facets,” warning that the rule of law has become virtually non-existent and that governance is failing to meet the basic needs of the people.