The Osun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has given a 21- day ultimatum to Governor Rauf Aregbesola in which he must start preparation for local government elections, in conformity with Supreme Court judgement.
This was contained in a press statement signed by the State Chairman, Mr Soji Adagunodo and made available to journalists in Osogbo. The statement described the said judgement as sacrosanct, which should propel the state governor to immediately conduct elections into Local Governments in the state.
The party also lauded the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case number SC/102/2013, between the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission and Governor Rauf Aregbesola last week Friday which nullified the dissolution of the OSSIEC by the governor and directed that all entitlements of the Rtd. Justice Titus Oyeyemi-led OSSIEC be paid in full by the state government.
It stressed that failure of the government in the state to hold such elections within a reasonable time frame and not later than August 2017, would be tantamount to contempt of court which Governor Aregbesola swore to uphold on assumption of office.
The statement also made reference to another decision of the Supreme Court where Justice Olabode Rhodes Vivous led four other justices of the High court to describe as “executive recklessness” the acts of state governors running local governments with caretaker committees.
According to the statement, Governor Aregbesola must also account for all monies disbursed to caretaker committees and sole administrators in the last six and a half years of his administration.
“If the government in Osun fails to production initiate processes for the conduct of local government elections within the next 21 days, the PDP in Osun state will commence legal action to commit anyone purportedly acting as council managers or sole administrators to court for contempt and also secure relevant consequential orders against the governor himself,” the statement reads in part.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the All Progressive Congress(APC) in the state, Mr Kunle Oyatomi has berated the statement credited to PDP as reckless, saying it reflected lack of knowledge of basic workings of the government and electioneering process.
Oyatomi explained that there is a number of days required under the law to set up the machinery for elections, and there is no way election can be conducted in 21 days.
“The government of Ogbeni Aregbesola expects a viable opposition, not one gasping from breath, not one issuing statement without a reasonable content.
“In fact, we believe opposition should be more than a factions within a party trying to outdo each other by issuing watery statements in a bid confer more visibility than its opposing faction,” Oyatomi said.
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