By Boluwatife Adedokun
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the judgment of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, which dismissed a suit filed by reinstated local government chairmen and councillors elected in the October 15, 2022 local government election.
In a statement signed by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the APC described the judgment as a miscarriage of justice and announced plans to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
According to the party, the suit, marked FHC/OS/CS/147/2025, was filed in September 2025 by the reinstated council officials, while appeals arising from interlocutory rulings in the matter are already pending before the Court of Appeal.
The APC expressed concern that the Federal High Court proceeded to deliver judgment despite a pending motion seeking a stay of further proceedings before the appellate court.
“The Court of Appeal has become seized of the matter and a motion for staying further proceedings by the lower court is pending. Notwithstanding this, the judge proceeded to deliver judgment dismissing the suit,” the statement said.
The party noted that the court held that the tenure of the reinstated chairmen and councillors ended in October 2025.
It argued that the implication of the judgment was that the local government election conducted by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) on February 22, 2025, and the swearing-in of elected officials the following day, became a nullity.
“The implication is that the purported elections conducted by OSSIEC on February 22, 2025, and the alleged swearing-in of the people as elected officers on February 23, 2025, became a nullity, having held that the tenure of office of the plaintiffs subsisted till October 2025,” the APC stated.
The party maintained that the reinstated chairmen and councillors would continue to exercise their constitutional rights through the appeal process.
“Until such constitutional rights are exhaustively exercised, the reinstated chairmen and councillors will continue to discharge their constitutional duties in office,” it said.
The APC further urged its members and supporters to remain calm and law-abiding while awaiting the final determination of the appeal.
“We urge members of the public to exercise restraint and await the final determination of the appeal,” the statement added.
