By John Dike, Osogbo
Proceedings in the suit seeking judicial clarification on the tenure of local government officials in Osun State were stalled on Wednesday at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, following the absence of lawyers representing the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The matter, popularly described as the local government tenure elongation suit, was fixed for hearing but could not proceed as none of the APC’s legal representatives appeared in court.
Court sources confirmed that the APC, which filed the suit as plaintiff, listed ten lawyers in its processes, including three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). However, none of them was present when the case was called, prompting the court to adjourn the matter to March 4, 2026.
Osun State Government has since described the absence of the APC legal team as deliberate and unfortunate, accusing the party of engaging in delay tactics to prolong the lingering local government crisis in the state.
In a statement issued after the court sitting, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the APC’s conduct had continued to frustrate efforts to resolve the impasse surrounding local government administration in Osun.
Alimi reiterated the state government’s position that the local government election conducted on October 15, 2022, under the administration of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, was illegal and contrary to the Electoral Act, adding that the election was subsequently nullified by the Federal High Court.
According to him, claims by the APC that its chairmen and councillors were reinstated based on judgments delivered on February 10 and June 13, 2025, were misleading, as the nullification of the election remained subsisting in law.
He also accused the APC of abandoning the very suit it instituted, while publicly insisting that the case was the legal basis for the continued occupation of local government secretariats by reinstated council officials.
“It is in the public domain that the APC claimed to have filed a suit for tenure elongation or what they now call tenure determination, yet today they failed to prosecute the same case,”
The commissioner further alleged that the APC failed to serve court processes on all parties, adding that it was the state government’s counsel that mobilised court bailiffs to effect service on defendants in Abuja.
He maintained that the absence of the APC lawyers, despite listing multiple counsel including SANs, confirmed what he described as deliberate attempts to stall the judicial process.
Alimi also dismissed APC claims that local government allocations were not being withheld, insisting that the party had failed to account for the funds it claimed were available.
