By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

As the crisis rocking the administration of Local Government Councils in Osun State enters its fourth month, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) ? Professor Mike Ozekhome and Kunle Adegoke ? have taken opposing legal positions over the legitimacy of elected council officials.

The ongoing standoff has effectively crippled governance at the third tier of government in the state, with rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) officials laying claim to the 30 council secretariats and the Area Office. This has led to industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), who shut down operations across all local councils since February 2025.

In a letter dated June 23, 2025, addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and copied to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and various security agencies, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, argued that the Appeal Court judgment of February 10, 2025, did not issue any consequential order reinstating the sacked APC officials. He maintained that the PDP officials elected on February 22, 2025, remain the legitimate officeholders.

?The Court of Appeal in CA/AK/270/2022 never made any consequential order reinstating the APC Chairmen/Councillors. It did not pronounce on the propriety or otherwise of the election, rendering it a mere academic exercise,? Ozekhome wrote.

He further asserted that the Federal High Court judgment which sacked the 30 APC officials remains binding since it has not been overturned with any valid consequential order.

However, Kunle Adegoke, SAN, counsel to the APC council officials, strongly disagreed. In a letter dated June 26, also addressed to the AGF and relevant authorities, he insisted that the Appeal Court judgment remains valid and reinstated the APC officials.

?Contrary to the narrative spun by Prof. Ozekhome, the Court of Appeal?s judgment delivered on February 10, 2025, is the valid and subsisting pronouncement affirming the lawfully elected APC Chairmen and Councillors,? Adegoke wrote.

He explained that the Appeal Court not only struck out the Federal High Court judgment but ruled in favour of the APC on its merit, dismissing the PDP suit as speculative because it was filed before the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) issued an election notice.

Ozekhome had cited a June 13, 2025 ruling as lending credence to the PDP’s February 2025 elections. Adegoke, however, dismissed this, stating that the reference to the PDP election came only in a concurring opinion and not in the lead ruling ? which carries the weight of law.

?The reference in the concurring ruling of Justice Omoleye to the PDP?s election was suo motu and mistaken. Obiter dicta, no matter how eloquent, do not have binding legal force,? Adegoke argued.

As the legal back-and-forth deepens, there is still no resolution to the impasse at the local government level in Osun State. With both parties claiming legal backing and council operations remaining shut, the fate of grassroots governance hangs in the balance.

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