The Osun state high court in Osogbo has ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) to conduct Saturday’s local government (LG) election.
Adeyinka Aderigbigbe, the presiding judge, issued the order on Friday following a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against OSIEC.
Aderigbigbe also directed security agencies to provide security cover during the February 22 LG election in the state.
The PDP had told the court that there are vacancies in the 30 LGAs of the state since the federal high court judgment nullified the election conducted in 2022.
“An order of this Honourable Court directing, mandating and compelling the Defendants to fill the vacancies across the 30 local Government Areas of Osun State through a democratic process by proceeding to conduct the local government elections already scheduled by the Defendants for 22nd of February, 2025,” the PDP requested.
The party also claimed that the recent court of appeal judgment affirmed the verdict of the lower court on the matter.
There has been controversy in Osun state over the planned local government election and the judgment of the court of appeal.
Earlier, Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun state, insisted that the planned LG election would hold despite the advice of Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation.
On Thursday, Fagbemi said ousted LG chairpersons must be reinstated since the court of appeal had dismissed the judgment of the lower court that sacked them.
On Monday, violence broke out at some LG secretariats in Osun state after supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and those of the PDP clashed.
Bullets were fired during the clash as many residents scampered for safety, with at least six persons shot dead.
The crisis in the state stemmed from the judgment of the court of appeal on sacked council chairpersons and councillors — who are members of the APC.
The PDP claimed that the February 10 judgment of the court of appeal in Akure, Ondo state, did not reinstate the sacked chairpersons and councillors, while the APC insisted that it did.
In November 2022, the Osun governor directed the heads of LGAs and council development areas to take charge of their councils.
The governor said the decision was in compliance with a federal high court judgment that declared the LG election that brought the chairpersons and councillors into office as illegal.