• Assembly warns IGP against political influence
• APC chairmen, councillors resume in 26 councils
• Reps wade into crisis between Adeleke, Oyetola
• Osun PDP alleges plot to assassinate Adeleke
• Governor accuses IGP of executing lawlessness
Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has urged President Bola Tinubu not allow the impunity created by the crisis between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over control of the local councils in the state degenerate into chaos.
He said that allowing what he termed “political lawlessness’ on the part of the APC to take over councils in the state was capable of setting the stage for instability in the South West and the entire nation.
Egbedun, who spoke, yesterday, during a media briefing in Osogbo, also tasked the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, not to bow to political influence in restoring peace in the state.
The Speaker, while contending that the state’s House of Assembly was not unaware of the close relationship between the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola and the IGP, maintained that “personal relationships may exist, but the security of Osun State must never be sacrificed on the altar of friendship at the expense of the rule of law.”
Also, an Abuja-based lawyer and rights activist, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has warned the federal government and the ruling APC that any attempt to forcefully take over the government of Osun State will lead to unimaginable chaos and anarchy.
The lawyer warned the actors in the political crisis to thread softly and toe the part of justice and peace.
Olajengbesi, who spoke during a media briefing in Abuja, yesterday, faulted the forceful take over of the councils in Osun by some groups linked to the APC in the state.
He said that the forceful takeover was a like a coup, adding that even if the actors have judgment in their favour, it was completely wrong to take laws into their hands under the guise of enforcing the judgment.
HOWEVER, The Guardian learnt, yesterday, that the council chairmen and councillors elected under the APC in 2022 have resumed duties in about 26 councils in the state.
But the former Special Adviser to former Governor Gboyega Oyetola on Education Matters, Jamiu Olawumi, disclosed that the chairmen and councillors had resumed in 14 local council secretariats.
MEANWHILE, the House of Representatives has waded into the face-off between loyalists of Governor Ademola Adeleke and his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, over control of local councils in the state.
The House, while adopting a motion under matters of urgent national importance at plenary presided by Speaker Tajudeen Abass, yesterday, resolved to constitute an ad-hoc committee to probe into the issue.
In another development, the Osun State chapter of the PDP has alleged plot to assassinate Governor Adeleke.
The party said that the deployment of Special Tactical Forces under the IGP’s command to quell crisis in the state was part of the grand plot to get rid of the governor.
Meanwhile, Adeleke, yesterday, met top British diplomats and accused Egbetokun of executing and imposing illegality on local councils in the state.
In a statement forwarded to journalists in Osogbo by Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor was quoted to have stated that “it is unfortunate and a disservice to democracy that the Inspector-General of Police is colluding with the APC to enforce a non-existing court order.
In his remarks, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter, who stressed the importance of democratic processes and the rule of law, urged all political actors to prioritise peace and dialogue over conflict.
