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By Osun Leaders of Thought
We write you as a group of bipartisan leaders from Osun state who firmly believe in the sanctity of democracy and rule of law. We are supporters of all elected leaders including Mr President, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose historical ancestral home is Osun state. We write to you about the ongoing attempt to divert Osun local government funds to court-sacked chairmen and the involvement of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), a brand affiliated with you and a publicly quoted company with obligations to comply with court orders and rule of law.
We take liberty to update you on the genesis of the Osun local government crisis so that you can intervene before the management of UBA became a documented accessory to the high crime of looting Osun local government fund. On August 8, 2022, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in Osun state issued a notice to conduct election into local governments in the state. This was a few days after the July 16, 2022 governorship election in the state, which the APC-led government lost.
The notice of election however failed to meet provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, particularly Sections 28, 29, 30, 32 and 150, which mandates at least 360 days notice before election is conducted. Even more, the notice was in contravention of a decision by the Supreme Court in OSSIEC v. ACTION CONGRESS (2010) 19 NWLR (PT.1226) 273 SC.
In light of this legal questions, two political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Peoples Party (APP) approached the Federal High Court separately to contest the validity of the local governments election which held on October 15, 2022. On November 25, 2022, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel gave judgement in the PDP suit and invalidated the October 15, 2022 election, and as a consequence, sacked all beneficiaries which are APC members. By November 30, the same judge decided in the APP suit, nullifying the October 15, 2022 local governments election.
That makes it two judgements, separately delivered to invalidated the October 15, 2022 local governments election and sack APC officials elected from it. The APC filed separate appeal against the two judgements but for reason known to it, abandoned the appeal against the judgement secured by the APP, which sacked the beneficiaries of the October 15, 2022 local governments election.
On January 13, 2025, the Court of Appeal sitting in Akure dismissed the appeal challenging the judgement in the APP suit, effectively restoring the sack of the APC Chairmen and councillors delivered by Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel on November 30, 2022. On February 10, 2025, the Court of Appeal sitting in Akure decked in the appeal filed against the judgement delivered on November 25, 2022, and ruled that the PDP suit was filed prematurely without pronouncing on the legality of the election.
However, the APC wrongly misinterpreted the judgement to mean reinstatement and under the pretext, forcefully hijacked councils in the state. Interestingly, the APC returned to the Court of Appeal to attempt the relisting of its appeal against the judgement secured by the APP but on June 13, 2025, the court refused the request and affirmed the previous decision, which nullified the October 15, 2022 local governments election. Notwithstanding this legal situation, the APC continues to ignore it and continue to lay claim to the councils even when there is a subsisting judgement that sacked its officials.
We have taken the pain of providing you this legal background to ensure that you’re adequately informed and guided on the situation. From the clear reading of the above, it is not in doubt that the APC officials trying to access Osun local governments funds have no legal claim to it. It is even important to point out that there is a pending suit before the Supreme Court to make definitive pronouncement on the legal questions surrounding the lawfully claimants of the councils.
It is therefore clear that the APC are trying to manipulate your bank into unlawfully accessing the Osun local governments fund domiciled with your financial institution. And the implication will be devastating, not just on the reputation of your bank but also the likely financial losses that will arise if money belonging to the people is hijacked by illegal people.
Dr. Elemelu, we cannot remind you enough what it took you to build the UBA Group into a powerhouse in the financial industry and it would be collosal to lose public faith in you for allowing your platform to be used for illegal activities. It is for this reason that we respectively urge you to reject any attempt to use the UBA Group to handover public fund to people who have no legal claims to the councils. You and your bank, the UBA Group should stand for the rule of law and not be an abetter of illegality.
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