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By Oluwaseyi Adeniyi (ASP)
Before Mr. Ismail Omipidan assumed the role of a meddlesome interloper, peddling falsehood regarding the Osun local government withheld allocations and its legality, he ought to have restrained himself with the discipline his profession demands. Yes, I am aware that he once served as Chief Press Secretary to the former governor of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, who was rejected by the people of Osun in July 2022.
It is no secret that Mr. Omipidan and his party men still nurse the bruises they sustained from that contest. That pain continues to cloud their judgment, pushing them to manufacture narratives that suit their bruised egos rather than the truth.
In his hurriedly written piece, Omipidan claimed that the appeal of the APC’s sacked “Yes or No” chairmen and councillors was allowed. This is pure misinformation, and it should not have come from an informed mind like Omipidan.
To set the records straight: I was physically present at the Court of Appeal in Akure on the day the case of relisting was heard. Neither Omipidan nor any of his reporters was anywhere near the courtroom. Those of us who were present witnessed how the APC lawyer was literally begging the court to allow relisting because that was their last hope. If truly there was a judgment reinstating the sacked chairmen and councillors, why did Omipidan avoid quoting the clear pronouncements of the justices?
The June 13th Appeal Court Judgment delivered by His Lordship Peter Chudi Obiorah, JCA, leaves no room for ambiguity:
At Page 48, Paragraph 3:
“If the 3rd Appellant/Applicant and her members who were elected as Chairmen and Councillors, and subsequently sacked by the lower court, knew that the term of office they were elected to serve was three years, then it is inconceivable that they will go to slumber for two years.”
At Page 49, Paragraph 2:
“Whatever that made the 3rd Appellant/Applicant and her sacked members to go to sleep for two years without worry and suddenly wake up after two years cannot be based on motives that are altruistic and in conformity with expeditious determination of the appeal… even a right to fair hearing is expected to be exercised within a reasonable time.”
At Page 56, Paragraph 2:
“Everything in this application shows that the 3rd Appellant has not shown good cause why this application should be granted. The fate that has befallen them is self-inflicted. It is accordingly dismissed.”
In addition, His Lordship Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, JCA, in her concurring ruling, made it clear (Page 4, Paragraph 2):
“Critically, this Court had earlier delivered judgment on the 10th February, 2025 in Appeal No. CA/AK/270/2022… The said appeal has been dismissed. What is more, the fresh Local Government elections conducted on the 22nd February, 2025 and the swearing-in of new Chairmen and Councillors have overtaken the substratum of this dispute. Relisting the appeal at this stage would serve no practical purpose.”
This is the judgment Omipidan mischievously ignored, preferring instead to conjure his own version of events.
Is Omipidan now suggesting that the Royal Fathers and the Nigerian Bar Association, both of whom have openly called on the Federal Government to release Osun’s withheld local government allocations, are also wrong? Or does he want to brand them as being “paid” by the state government simply because they speak the truth?
The fact is clear: those who suffer from this wicked act of withholding allocations are the ordinary people at the grassroots, not politicians. If Omipidan and the APC are happy to see Osun locals groan under this weight, they should prepare for the day when the people will respond, not with noise, but with their votes.
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