Coalition threatens protest over Osun LG crisis

  The Transparency Centre Network (TCN) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to enforce the court judgment in the Osun State local government councils election case.   It threatened to lead a nationwide protest to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in Abuja if the government failed to act after […]

 

The Transparency Centre Network (TCN) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to enforce the court judgment in the Osun State local government councils election case.

 

It threatened to lead a nationwide protest to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in Abuja if the government failed to act after one week.

 

TCN’s Executive Director, Ayuba Ahmed, while speaking at a press conference in Abuja, said, “We are giving the Federal Government one week—seven days—to act decisively and lawfully.

 

“If by the end of this ultimatum, no concrete action has been taken to expel the APC impostors from the Osun LG councils, the Transparency Centre Network will lead a nationwide protest to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in Abuja.

 

“We shall mobilise democratic forces across the country—civil society, student unions, professional associations, and everyday Nigerians—to demand justice and defend the integrity of our judiciary.

 

“This will not be a mere symbolic protest. It will be a full-scale, peaceful demonstration to remind those in power that Nigeria belongs to all of us.

 

“We will not fold our arms and allow political actors to convert our LG councils into illegal outposts of political conquest.”

 

The group, a frontline civic coalition dedicated to defending Nigeria’s democracy, entrenching rule of law, and promoting transparency in governance, called on President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, to enforce the court judgment on the Osun local government elections, querying the president for tolerating the violation of appellate court decisions by members of his political party.

 

He also chided the Attorney-General for “allowing his silence to embolden illegality”.

 

Ahmed recalled that the Court of Appeal had delivered a definitive judgment nullifying the conduct of the local government elections in Osun State carried out by the previous administration, adding that the Court declared the process illegal and unconstitutional, effectively voiding the legitimacy of the purportedly elected APC council chairmen and councillors.

 

“Yet, weeks after this judgment, the APC functionaries in question have refused to vacate the Local Government Council Secretariats across Osun State.

 

“They continue to parade themselves as legitimate public officeholders, desecrating the authority of the judiciary, undermining democracy, and plunging our constitutional order into chaos,” the group lamented.

 

TCN, therefore, demanded immediate action, urging the President and the AGF to move swiftly to enforce the judgment of the Court of Appeal, expel all illegal occupants from the Osun LG Council Secretariats, and restore lawful governance at the grassroots.

 

It also called on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately act in line with the Court’s decision and assist in expelling all unauthorised people from the council secretariats.