Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun State, has directed that the most senior career heads in all local government, local council development areas in the state take charge of their respective councils.
This was revealed in a statement on Monday in Osogbo from his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed.
According to the statement, Adeleke maintained that the sacking of the purportedly elected local government Chairmen and Councilors was done in accordance with the decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo.
Furthermore, the directive is effective immediately, according to the statement.
The Osun local government election was declared null and void by Justice Ayo Nathaniel Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, on Friday, November 25, 2022.
The Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC), chaired by Segun Oladitan, conducted the local government election on Saturday, October 15, 2022.
Justice Emmanuel ruled that the local government election was illegal, null and void because it was not conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
He also directed that the local government chairmen and councillors who were sworn in following the election vacate the Local Government Secretariats and offices immediately.
The Osun Local Government election has been a source of contention between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) since the State government, led by Adegboyega Oyetola, set the date for Saturday, October 15, 2022.
The Osun PDP, then in opposition, had sued OSIEC and its Chairman, claiming that the local government election was illegal and violated the Electoral Act of 2022.
The Osun State House of Assembly had given OSIEC permission to conduct the LG poll.
The OSIEC law 2022 was also approved by the Osun House of Assembly and signed into law by the outgoing governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party and other parties boycotted the Osun local government election, and the ballot, which used a “Yes” or “No” system, saw only one political party, the APC, run for all available positions.