Osogbo, Osun State – December 7, 2025 – In a blistering accusation that’s set Nigeria’s political tinderbox ablaze, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has branded Governor Ademola Adeleke and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) allies as dangerous distorters of justice, claiming their “mischievous” spin on a landmark Supreme Court verdict is priming the pump for bloody unrest across local councils.
The explosive finger-pointing erupted just two days after the apex court on Friday, December 5, struck out Osun’s lawsuit challenging the federal government’s withholding of local government allocations— a decision that, while procedural, has unleashed a torrent of rival interpretations threatening to reignite the state’s chronic power struggles. APC state chairman Tajudeen Lawal didn’t hold back in a Sunday statement, blasting Adeleke’s camp for “deliberately misrepresenting” the ruling to whip up chaos, and urgently appealing to Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu to rein them in before “coordinated attacks on APC members” turn Osun’s dusty streets into battlegrounds. APC accuses Adeleke PDP, Supreme Court ruling Osun, twisting court judgment, inciting violence Nigeria, and local government crisis Osun aren’t abstract terms anymore—they’re the volatile lexicon of a feud that’s already claimed lives and billions in frozen funds.
This isn’t hyperbole born of election-season bluster. Osun’s local government saga reads like a courtroom thriller scripted by rival warlords: It kicked off in October 2022 when outgoing APC Governor Gboyega Oyetola—now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy—rammed through council polls that swept all 30 chairmanships for his party, just weeks before handing over to PDP’s dancing dynamo, Adeleke. The PDP boycotted, cried foul in court, and scored a high court win sacking the APC victors. Adeleke, sworn in amid fanfare and family beats, promptly installed caretaker committees—only for the Court of Appeal in February 2023 to toss the PDP suit for jurisdictional overreach, greenlighting APC comebacks that sparked machete-wielding clashes killing at least five and scarring town halls from Ife to Ilesa.
Undeterred, Adeleke’s administration circled back with fresh elections in February 2025, crowning PDP loyalists in a vote the federal Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi later deemed “illegal,” triggering the LG funds freeze that’s starved councils of over ₦20 billion since. Fast-forward to August 2025: Osun sues the feds at the Supreme Court, begging for cash flow to its PDP chairs and a halt to APC “usurpation.” The court’s response? Dismissal for lack of merit, but with a sharp rebuke to Abuja for the “unconstitutional” seizure—yet no direct lifeline to Adeleke’s pleas. Enter the APC’s rage: Lawal’s missive paints Adeleke’s radio jabs—via Commissioner for Information Kolapo Alimi—as “surprising incitements,” alleging the governor’s framing the ruling as a PDP vindication is code for mobilizing thugs against opposition strongholds. “We are cautioning Governor Adeleke to desist from any actions capable of disturbing the public peace,” Lawal thundered, evoking ghosts of 2023’s fatalities.
At the heart of the mudslinging: Interpretation warfare. APC insists the verdict reinforces federal overreach critiques without touching Osun’s internal polls—echoing their June 2025 warning that only the Supreme Court could flip the February 10 Appeal Court nod to their old guard. PDP’s riposte, via state chairman Sunday Bisi, flips the script: “The judgment affirms our February 2025 elections’ legitimacy,” Bamiji shot back, accusing APC of “disgraceful twists” to cling to power vacuums. Caught in the crossfire? Alimi’s weekend radio rant, where he hailed the ruling as a “victory against federal meddling,” which APC branded a “twisted narrative” stoking unrest.
Legal eagles are dissecting it like a fresh kill. “The Supreme Court’s strike-out is neutral on the polls—it’s about federalism, not party scores,” opines Professor Yemi Oke, a Lagos-based constitutional scholar, in a Premium Times op-ed. “But in Osun’s cauldron, neutrality is fuel; Adeleke’s spin risks vigilante reprisals, while APC’s alarmism could paralyze governance.” Echoing from Abuja, APC national publicity secretary Felix Morka—fresh off slamming Adeleke’s February poll as “anarchic defiance”—warned in February that such escalations mock the rule of law, urging Supreme Court appeals over street brawls.
Public backlash is a powder keg online and off. On X, #OsunLGChaos trended with 45,000 posts by Sunday evening, splitting users like a faulty ballot: APC diehards rallied behind Lawal’s plea—”Adeleke’s dancing into disaster! IGP, act now #ProtectAPC”—garnering 12,000 retweets, while PDP faithful countered with memes of Oyetola as a “puppet master,” one viral clip quipping, “Supreme Court said no to your frozen funds game—dance on, Gov!” Village squares in Osogbo buzzed with heated chai-side debates; a fishmonger in Orolu told reporters, “We’ve buried enough over chairs—let the courts chair, not fists.” Atiku Abubakar, PDP’s 2023 flagbearer, waded in back in February, fingering APC for “instigating” those deadly clashes, a charge Oyetola’s camp dismissed as “defeatist deflection.”
For ordinary Nigerians, this Osun opera hits like a gut punch. Economically, the ₦20 billion+ freeze has gutted road repairs and school feeds in 30 councils, spiking unemployment in a state where youth joblessness hovers at 35%—think farmers in Ejigbo waiting on absent grader funds while politicians posture. Lifestyle woes? Blackouts linger as LGs can’t fund generators, and clinic shelves empty without allocation top-ups—mums in Iwo queuing hours for basics that violence once interrupted. Politically, it’s a microcosm of Tinubu’s federalism push clashing with state egos, fueling whispers of 2027 spoilers if Osun boils over. Tech twist: AI-moderated community apps like NaijaReport are flagging “incitement posts” in real-time, while blockchain trackers eyed for fund flows could end such standoffs. Sports fans draw parallels—”Like a Super Eagles penalty shootout gone wrong; one twist, and it’s red cards all around,” griped an Enyimba supporter on Instagram.
User intent unpacked: If you’re a worried Osun resident searching “Supreme Court ruling Osun LG funds explained,” the takeaway’s procedural limbo—no winners, but urgency for dialogue. For politicos querying “how to avoid violence in LG crisis,” APC’s playbook: Alert sec agencies early, per Lawal’s template. Management hack: Cross-party summits with neutral mediators like the NBA—Osun Bar’s offered thrice since 2023, ignored amid barbs.
Digging roots, this feud traces to Adeleke’s 2022 upset over Oyetola, inheriting APC fiefs that PDP viewed as “stolen mandates.” The October 2022 polls? Boycotted by PDP as “lame-duck grabs,” birthing the high court sack, Appeal reversal, and February 2025 redo—deemed illegal federally, per Fagbemi’s August brief. APC’s August blast called Adeleke’s suit “confused desperation,” predicting the dismissal that now boomerangs. Oke adds nuance: “MDR-like traceability in funds could defuse this; Osun’s a testbed for Nigeria’s fiscal federalism flaws.”
Silver threads? The court’s federalism slap-down nods to broader reforms, like the LG autonomy bill Tinubu champions. APC’s Olabisi, in June, touted “only Supremes can flip Feb 10,” a line Lawal echoes now—hinting at fresh appeals. PDP’s Bisi, undaunted, vows “no retreat” on their polls, eyeing reconciliation forums. Yet SMEs in Osogbo’s markets groan: “While they twist words, our stalls twist in the wind—no funds, no flour.”
For query hounds like “Adeleke response to APC accusations,” expect a Monday clapback—Alimi’s teased a presser. Pro tip: Track via INEC’s portal for poll audits; quarterly “peace audits” with CSOs could preempt flares.
As Osun simmers, glimmers of de-escalation flicker: Egbetokun’s outfit pledged patrols Sunday, and Ribadu’s office hinted at “stakeholder dialogues.” Oke foresees: “If cooler heads prevail, this ruling births true autonomy—sans the blood.”
The vista? A taut Osun, where one misstatement could cascade into 2023 redux. APC’s clarion—back the law, not the lure of unrest—challenges Adeleke to bridge, not burn. With APC accuses Adeleke PDP, Supreme Court ruling Osun, twisting court judgment, inciting violence Nigeria, and local government crisis Osun dominating dailies, the onus is on leaders: Govern, or grieve.
In summary, the APC’s salvo spotlights Osun’s fragility—a ruling twisted into tinder demands swift sec intervention and statesmanlike spins, charting a course from crisis to council calm for Nigeria’s grassroots heartbeat.
By Mark Smith
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