The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has, described Police intervention in the attempt of the opposition party to take over the local government secretariats across Osun as an attempt to disrupt Saturday Election
The party also accused the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun of planning to assassinate the governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, alleging the IGP of attempting to destabilise the state through orchestrated violence.
The Osun PDP chairman, Sunday Bisi, made the allegations during a world press conference in Osogbo on Wednesday.
Bisi claimed that Egbetokun had deployed Police Special Forces to escort miscreants into local government council secretariats in a bid to cause unrest.
The allegation is coming amid the ongoing local government crisis in the state.
Bisi further stated that Governor Adeleke had been engaging with the IGP to restore peace after violent clashes erupted on Monday.
He described the situation as a continuation of the APC’s desperation to reclaim power after being voted out in 2022.
Bisi suggested that the police intervention was designed to disrupt the upcoming local government elections scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2025.
The statement read in full; “As we are all aware, Osun State has has been thrown into the cloudy side of the news in recent days, no thanks to the surreptitious activities of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to destabilise the state with orchestrated violence obviously hatched in active connivance of his office and the oppositionAll Progressives Congress, banking on a non-existent court order as being brandished by the defeated Apc in the state.
“Mr Egbetokun’s deliberate deployment of Special Forces under him to escort some miscreants into the local government councils in the state was nothing but a blatant coup and obviously one out of the many mapped out plans to assassinate the Governor of our dear State, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, whose instruction to restore peace and order as the Chief Security Officer of Osun State, was flagrantly violated by Mr Egbetokun.
“We understand that His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke has been interfacing with Egbetokun, with the sole aim of ensuring peace after the fatal fracas on Monday, occassioned by forceful attempts by the sacked chairmen and councillors purportedly elected on the platform of opposition Apc before the advent of PDP administration in the state.
“The whole world must warn and prevail on Mr Kayode Egbetokun to desist from being an enabler of orchestrated attempts on the life of our Governor. This plans we want to emphasize, have being on the cards of the Apc in Osun State, since the good people of Osun State voted them out of office in 2022.
“The desperation to get rid of Mr Governor and take over the State through whatever means possible has been rife and clear enough since Apc was shut out of government in Osun.
“These comments are made here today for record purposes and the world must hold the Inspector General of Police accountable in the event of any ugly eventualities in the Osun .
“One wonders how and why the IGP sidetracked the Governor of Osun State before taking a stand on the copies of the judgement at his disposal on the disputes over local government administration in the state.
“The stark disobedience to the laid dwom protocol and rules by the the IGP Egbetokun, especially as it concerned security situation in the state was not only suspecious but apparently dangerous.
“The motive of security reinforcement if required and as discussed with Egbetokun by His Excellency, the Governor, has not only been betrayed by Mr Egbetokun, but has also set dangerous routes for trouble makers to carry out their dastardly act even when the state has just lost almost 10 of our sons and daughters to violent confrontations in less than 48hours ago.
“We are not unaware that the desperation of Mr Egbetokun and his Apc cohorts is ultimately to prevent the local government election from holding in Osun State on Saturday, 22nd of February 2025. We are aware that Mr Egbetokun is ready to bend all the rules, aid and abet killings of Osun people, especially members of the ruling PDP as we witnessed on Monday, but the IGP should be told in clear terms that he will fail.
“Osun State is not a state to be intimidated by anyone, even if the present experience was part of the basis for which Egbetokun’s expired tenure of office was elongated.
“It is on this note that we commend the electoral umpire in Osun state, the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) for towing the path of law and legality in its preparations for the upcoming local governments election in Osun state. We understand that the APC failure to fault the process as it abides by all extant laws in the land motivated the despicable lawlessness it is currently perpetrating in Osun state just to sabotage the election.
“We want to urge the general public, particularly voters in Osun state, not to succumb to the tactics of the APC and their allies in security outfits as the election billed for Saturday February 22, 2025 will hold without failing. By the effect of the Federal High Court judgement of November 30, 2022 in suit no FHC/OS/CS/103/2022, which was affirmed by the Appeal Court with the dismissal of the APC appeal challenging the verdict, there clearly exists vacancy in the 30 local governments in Osun as recognised by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and in line with the Supreme Court judgement of July 11, 2024, and not the non-existent 69 councils in which the APC held the YES or NO election on October 15, 2022, which was invalidated by the law court.
“Once again, I thank you gentlemen of the press for your time, and I implore you to be on standby as we may extend further invitations to you to brief you on situation of things.”
OsunReporters News had reported on Monday that the crisis stemmed from attempts by sacked local government chairmen and councillors of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, to regain control of council secretariats.
In the aftermath of the violence, six persons were confirmed dead by the Osun State Police Command.
Among the dead were Remi Abass, the ousted chairman for Irewole Local Government Area who was killed in Ikire town.
