Adeleke, APC clash over market revenue collection
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, and the All Progressives Congress in the state argued on Sunday over who should collect market rates in local government areas.
They even threatened to arrest each other.
Since February, APC-elected chairmen have been in charge of local councils in Osun.
But Adeleke told the PDP chairmen and councillors elected on February 21 not to go to work.
Adeleke’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, released a statement in which the governor asked the Osun State Commissioner of Police to stop what he called illegal tax collection by some APC council chairmen.
He also accused them of forging council documents.
The governor said the police should question those involved in faking documents, collecting money with fake papers, and charging traders illegally.
Adeleke mentioned a specific case in Boripe Local Government.
He said the chairman there set up a revenue taskforce, which is against the law.
He said this act also disrespects the court, since the APC has already filed an appeal about their removal from office.
In response, the APC told Adeleke to stop violating the Constitution, asking the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to order the Osun Commissioner of Police to investigate the state government’s alleged plan to attack some council officials who are working to keep order in markets using fake policemen.
APC’s spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said since February 10, when the Appeal Court in Akure brought back APC council officials elected in 2022, the state government has used several tricks to stop them from returning to work.
Adeleke, however, argued that the APC chairmen are in office illegally.
He added, “The same illegal taskforce officials have begun issuing the fake documents like local government Identification letters, market revenue receipts, etc., to the members of the public,” and asked the police to act before things get out of hand.
He also told his Special Adviser on Security, Samuel Ojo, to work with the police to carry out his order. Adeleke said the APC chairmen were making life harder for people by collecting “illegal revenue and tax collections.”
He continued, “Is this the reason for illegal occupation of local government secretariats? Is this all about extorting the people and imposing pains and suffering on them? This should stop forthwith.”
He warned the public, saying, “We alert the public to this new round of illegality on a subjudiced matter. I have directed the police authorities accordingly. Forging council documents and collecting revenue illegally are punishable offences under the law. Any person caught in such act will face the full wrath of the law.”
The APC denied the governor’s claims, saying the governor and his team refuse to accept that the APC chairmen and councillors were legally brought back to power by the court. APC said they have the right to supervise markets.
They said, “By virtue of the Court of Appeal judgement of the 10th of February, 2025, the said chairmen and councillors cannot be said to be performing illegal duties by superintending the markets which fall within the purview of their schedule as allowed by the Constitution.
“One wonders why Governor Adeleke is afraid of approaching the Supreme Court if he is angry that the Court of Appeal backed the elected chairmen to return to their office to exercise the mandate given to them by the electorate in October 2022. The governor should act decently and honourably, rather than knocking his head on the wall, pacing maniacally like a bull in a china shop.”
APC asked the police bosses to warn Adeleke and others causing trouble.
They reminded him that the Constitution does not give the state government power over market affairs.
They added, “We resolve that the political instability which Governor Adeleke has courted in recent time, and which his faction of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has been conscripted to energize, would be given to him in full dosage if he decides to prevent the recognized, lawfully elected and reinstated local government council chairmen from performing their constitutional duties.”
