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Court Reserves Judgement on Osun APC Chairmen Tenure Elongation
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Court Reserves Judgement on Osun APC Chairmen Tenure Elongation
By Waliu Adetokun, Osogbo
A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo on Wednesday reserved judgement in a suit filed by chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who are seeking the elongation of their tenure, adjourning the matter till May 21, 2026, for final determination.
The case, which revolves around the alleged attempt to extend the tenure of the council chairmen beyond October 2025, came up for hearing on Wednesday after a series of adjournments.
Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, in a statement, accused the plaintiffs of deliberately frustrating the proceedings through repeated delay tactics.
According to him, “after forcibly occupying local government secretariats beyond the expiration of their purported tenure in October 2025, they ran to the Federal High Court seeking to legitimize and elongate a tenure already voided by the court.”
He alleged that the plaintiffs initially failed to serve key defendants, thereby stalling the commencement of the case until the Governor of Osun State and the Attorney-General intervened to ensure proper service.
“Rather than pursue their case diligently, they immediately resorted to games by failing to serve key defendants, frustrating the commencement of proceedings,” Alimi said.
He further claimed that the plaintiffs’ counsel repeatedly stayed away from court sittings, citing engagements in other courts, which led to adjournments at their instance.
“It became a pattern of avoidance. Their lawyers stayed away from court, citing appearances in other courts, leading to adjournments at their own instance,” he added.
Alimi also said an attempt to join the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in the suit disrupted an earlier hearing scheduled for March 4, 2026.
“Not done, they engineered another delay by bringing in APM to file a joinder application, frustrating the hearing earlier fixed for March 4, 2026,” he stated.
He disclosed that despite the court’s directive that all parties should be ready for hearing on March 18, the plaintiffs returned with fresh applications.
“Today, true to form, they came with fresh frivolous applications aimed at stalling the case once again. They suddenly claimed there were fundamental contradictions in the suit and sought to call oral evidence, which was nothing but another calculated attempt to buy time,” he said.
According to the commissioner, the court dismissed the applications and proceeded with the hearing.
“The court was not fooled. All such applications were firmly dismissed as frivolous and clear delay tactics, with the court making it clear that litigation could not be endless,” he added.
He confirmed that the court heard the originating summons alongside all pending applications before adjourning the matter for judgment.
“Their originating summons and all pending applications were eventually heard, and the case has been adjourned till May 21, 2026, for judgment,” Alimi said.
