The political face-off in Osun State escalated on Tuesday as the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continued their heated dispute over the legitimacy of local government chairmen and councillors.

This battle is intensifying as both political parties have reportedly drawn the attention of the Federal Government.

The latest controversy follows a letter from the Osun State Government introducing newly elected chairmen and councillors to the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, and the Central Bank Governor, Yemi Cardoso.

This move has sparked outrage within the state APC chapter, which labelled the introduced officials as impostors and called on the Federal Government to reject their recognition.

In a statement, the Osun APC Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, said: “We want to put it on record that the PDP chieftains introduced by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Kazeem Igbalaye, are impersonators.

“There was no election that produced these individuals, and the Court of Appeal’s ruling on 10th February 2025 reinstated the local government executives elected in October 2022.”

APC insisted that the state government’s decision disregards the professional advice of the AGF, who had earlier advised Governor Ademola Adeleke not to conduct fresh elections, as the reinstated 2022 chairmen and councillors were yet to complete their tenure.

Despite this, the Osun PDP maintained that the appointments were valid and accused the APC of distorting facts.

Sunday Bisi, the Osun PDP chairman, stated: “The Osun APC is hallucinating. The Federal Government is already reviewing its stance on the Osun local government face-off. Certified court judgements have been submitted, and no ruling reinstated the so-called Yes/No chairmen the APC claims are legitimate.”

PDP argued that the Court of Appeal ruling provided no consequential orders for the reinstatement of the 2022 chairmen and councillors and accused APC of misinformation.

“The Federal Ministry of Justice is in possession of all relevant judgements and is currently reviewing the situation,” Bisi added.

Security concerns have also surfaced as both political parties trade accusations and counter-accusations.

APC pointed out that the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, had advised against holding the local government elections due to an unfavourable security situation—advice they claimed Governor Ademola Adeleke ignored.

“The IGP’s counsel was equally disregarded,” Olabisi said. “Now we see the consequences of this desperation for power. We urge the Federal Government to ignore this illegitimate introduction of impostors and uphold the rule of law.”

PDP, however, countered with allegations of violence from the Osun APC camp.

“Despite losing six of our members to political attacks, we opted for a peaceful resolution by reaching out to the AGF and other federal officials,” Bisi claimed.

Tensions heightened following the unresolved murder of Remi Abass, former chairman of Irewole Local Government and an APC leader.

“Rather than focusing on introducing illegitimate officials, Governor Adeleke should help law enforcement agencies bring the murderers within his party to justice,” Olabisi insisted.

Meanwhile, the legal battle remains a core issue in the crisis, as APC accused the state government of seeking a pliable judge in the state High Court to overturn the Akure Court of Appeal ruling.

The Osun APC described this action as a blatant disregard for judicial hierarchy.

“It is unheard of that a judgement debtor would approach a lower court to overturn the decision of a superior court. This is nothing but an attempt to purchase justice at all costs,” Olabisi maintained.

PDP, however, remains confident that the Federal Government will decide in its favour.

“We have dismantled the house of lies the APC built. The certified true copies of judgements are now with the Federal Ministry of Justice, and we believe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will ensure the right decision is made,” Bisi declared.