The Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State has described the decision by members of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria in the state to prosecute their case at the Supreme Court as an effort in futility.
The party, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Akeem Olatunji, made available to journalists in Ibadan, on Sunday, also condemned the roles played by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the 2019 elections, Mr. Bayo Adelabu, in the legal tussle between the state government and the sacked council chairmen.
According to the statement, Adelabu and the APC leaders in the state are encouraging needless legal battle for selfish reasons and to distract the current administration.
It read in parts, “We make bold to state unequivocally that the decision by the illegal ALGON members to head to the apex court is a beckon on greater shame which will surely end whatever is left of the opposition in the state.”
According to the statement, rather than engage the state government in a proxy war using the ALGON, the opposition should concentrate on how to stabilise their party.
It added, “We are aware that the unnecessary face off the illegal ALGON chairmen led by Prince Abass Aleshinloye was engaged in with the state government was being sponsored by some selfish politicians are keen on distracting the PDP government in Oyo state so that they could use such distractions for political blackmail in future elections and it is for this singular reason our government remains focused on full implementation of its developmental policies and programmes tailored towards improving the people’s quality of life.
“We are actually not amazed by comments credited to Chief Bayo Adelabu after the judgement of the appellate court where he attempted to discredit the laudable judgement and encouraged further legal face off to the Supreme Court.
“Only members of the APC who are beneficiaries of the illegality under the last administration would feign ignorance of the fact that the local government tussle the illegal ALGON chairmen engaged the state government in was not actually a battle between the two parties but a battle between APC and the people of Oyo State.
“We can only advise some leaders in the APC to deploy their experience to properly guide and advise the illegal ALGON chairmen to desist from making themselves available as a willing political tool in the hands of overzealous and desperate politicians.”
Reacting to the statement, the Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress in the state, AbdulAzeez Olatunde, said,
“Why is the PDP aching because we support the ALGON members in the move to take the case to Supreme Court?
“Doesn’t the APC have the right to seek redress in court? We know what happened in the Appeal Court, the reason why we are not reacting is that we want the court to come up with the final verdict.
“We want the result to speak for itself. The era of impunity should be a thing of the past. It should not be a person like Seyi Makinde that would behave the way he behaved. He claims to be ‘Omi tuntun’. He should have been someone who obeys the constitution to the letter. How can you say you swear to the constitution of Nigeria and within the 24 hours of being sworn in you break the oath that you swore to? Why we are not responding is that we are waiting for the result from the court. He who laughs last laughs best.
“They are ranting. We shall meet in court. We are not joining issues with them. When the result comes we would all see. He who is versed in the art of wrestling does not engage in empty threat. The end will justify the means.”
