DSM CONDEMNS THE DEADLY VIOLENCE OVER LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL IN OSUN STATE

• We Condemn the Role of the Police and the Attorney General of the Federation

• For A Mass Party of the Working People on a Genuine Socialist Program Capable of Banishing Poverty and Emancipating the Poor, Oppressed, Women and Youth

By Alfred Adegoke DSM Coordinator, Osun State

The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), Osun State, strongly condemns the violence that has trailed recent Appeal Court judgement over the 2022 Local Government elections. The violence, which has claimed lives and subjected the people of the state to unwarranted apprehension, was sequel to the judgement of the Appeal Court, Akure on local government election held in October, 2022 in the twilight of the Gboyega Oyetola/APC administration. The judgement, which doesn’t specifically reinstate the sacked APC members is being relied on by the Gboyega Oyetola-led All Progressives’ Congress (APC) to take over the local governments. Meanwhile there’s a subsisting Court of Appeal judgement in the case of APP where they remained sacked. Needless to say that this brigandage of the APC self-help was the immediate trigger of the crisis. This is condemnable. Equally condemnable is the call for state of emergency by APC stalwarts a la River State style. We condemn any attempt to destroy the semblance of democracy while we continue to advocate the revolutionary transformation of society along socialist lines.

The APC’s occupation of the local government secretariats has however been ineffective as local government workers are currently on strike in protest against the political crisis. The local government system in the state is currently paralysed as a result of the stalemate.

In spite of the above, we in the DSM, have always maintained that neither the APC nor the PDP has the genuine intention of ensuring a democratic local government system. For instance, Oyetola, who is now an emergency advocate of ‘rule of law’ did not allow local governments to have an election in almost four years of his administration. He only conducted a sham election, in which only his party, APC ‘contested’, and ballot papers only had ‘YES OR NO’ as voting options. The election ought to have been announced at least a year earlier but Oyetola organized the election after he had lost to PDP fueling the allegations of illegality and corruption. Worse still, the government practically paralysed the local government administration, with the state government cornering the local government funds.

On its part the Ademola Adeleke/PDP administration, despite giving some limited funds to local councils as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy, still has its firm and undemocratic grip over the local government administration. The local governments are still unable to undertake any serious grassroots development or activities. The government did not allow elections into the local councils for 2 years, rather using unelected caretaker committees and bureaucrats to run the councils. The decision to hold local council elections was not a free will of the state government but was a product of the Supreme Court ruling.

Furthermore, the local council election was tainted by the fact that the chairperson of the state electoral commission (OSSIEC) is a long-term lawyer to the PDP and Adeleke. The local government election subsequently held in February 2025 while relatively better than the APC sham elections is also sham. It was more or less an affirmation of PDP candidates, even though some few parties were purportedly reported to have participated in the election. While OSSIEC declared PDP candidates as winners, it has not produced the vote tally of the elections.

Aside all of these is the corruption that has defined both the Oyetola/APC and Adeleke/PDP administrations. For instance, the only major project of the Oyetola administration was the Ola-Iya flyover in Osogbo, which was actually a conduit pipe for looting. The flyover, which was less than 500 meters, reportedly cost the state over N2.7 billion. Worse still, the funds for the project were sourced through a usurious loan, with a high interest rate. The recent revelations by the Adeleke government of contract racketeering and direct looting of local funds by the Oyetola administration underscores the massive corruption under the APC government. In an instance, a local government worker was allegedly used to withdraw over N1.2 billion from local government funds within few weeks. This is despite the fact that one of the excuses of the Oyetola government’s lacklustre performance was lack of funds. Yet the officials of the administration went on a looting spree.

On the other hand, the road construction projects of the Adeleke/PDP government have been alleged of bloating and racketeering as the cost of these projects are well overboard. For instance, the Lagere, Ile-Ife flyover, which spans less than 2km will reportedly cost the state N14.9 billion. Yet, this is a state where the government just employed 10,000 people on a poverty salary of N30,000 a month, under a youth volunteer scheme, Imole Corps. Worth noting also is the fact that the government now earns more than 300 percent in revenue than previous administration, yet major sectors in the state, including public education, water supply and sanitation, remain in a terrible state. Two and half years, the government has refused to employ new teachers into public schools, despite obvious huge shortfall in teaching staff. Rather than a holistic renovation of schools, the government is cherry-picking just 10 schools, out of over a thousand public schools for renovation. Yet, most schools still lack basic facilities like chairs and tables for students!

For us in the DSM, the two main ruling parties are not fundamentally different from one another. Unfortunately, the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) which could have provided a genuine alternative to the two main capitalist ruling parties has been undemocratically deregistered by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is acting the script of the capitalist ruling elites.

While we condemn the violence that led to avoidable deaths and unwarranted tensions across the state, we need to condemn the role of the police and the attorney general of the federation, who gave marching order to the APC to occupy the local government secretariats, without regards to the Appeal Court judgement between APP and APC. The parochial ‘interpretation’ of law by the attorney general, and the open support of the police to APC, were major impetus to violence. The PDP did not waste time to mobilise its own shock-troopers to also cause mayhem and chaos. However, Adeleke, having seen the federal support for the APC, retreated by asking his party members and the purportedly elected local government executives to stay off the local government secretariats.

We however welcome the strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which directed all local government workers to stay at home until the crisis is resolved, as a way of safeguarding the lives of workers. Yet, we enjoin the labour leaders to commit the same energy to the welfare interests of workers and retirees in the state. Currently, the state government has only paid eight months out of the 30 months arrears of half-salaries and half-pensions, left by Aregbesola and Oyetola administrations.

Finally, we call on workers, youth, and the oppressed people in general to join the DSM in building a genuine mass working people political alternative on a socialist program to the capitalist ruling parties of APC and PDP.  It is such a party that can engender and run a democratic and viable local government that will deliver grassroots development in agriculture housing, education and health in the interest of the vast majority, different from the stagnation and failure of the local governments under the APC and PDP.