Osun LG crisis: How Tinubu brokered deal with Adeleke
Osun LG crisis: How Tinubu brokered deal with Adeleke
President Bola Tinubu has reportedly initiated a peace deal with Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to resolve the lingering local government administration crisis between the All Progressives Congress and the state government.
A top Osun State Government official, who spoke to Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, disclosed that Tinubu initiated the negotiation process during Adeleke’s visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja shortly after the August 15 governorship election in the state.
The official said the President subsequently constituted a small committee, headed by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to develop a framework for resolving the dispute, adding that negotiations had reached their final stage.
“Incidentally, we are in collaboration with the Presidency on the 2027 presidential election, and one of the issues people are angry about is the local government matter.
“Both sides thought, let’s find a way to look at the issues and resolve them. The Presidency and the state government set up a small committee to create a framework under which all these issues would be tackled. The committee would then come up with a position.
“After the resolution, both parties would go to court and settle out of court, and the local government system would return to normal,” he said.
The source added that the committee was constituted shortly after the governorship election, contrary to suggestions that the initiative was recent.
“After the election, when we visited the President, that was the day the committee was set up, it was not as if it was yesterday. It was the President who said, ‘Let’s set up this small committee to resolve this matter that is becoming complicated,’” the source said.
Sunday PUNCH reports that the crisis has centred on the leadership and control of local government councils in Osun, with rival political camps contesting the legitimacy of council officials and access to local government funds.
The dispute has also resulted in violent clashes and multiple court cases.
The governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, confirmed that the Presidency and the state government were working towards establishing a negotiation team to resolve the impasse.
Rasheed, who spoke during a private radio programme in Osogbo on Wednesday, said the negotiations had reached an advanced stage, although he admitted that he was not privy to the details of the proposed settlement because he was not a member of the team.
He expressed optimism that the dispute would be resolved before the 2027 general elections, despite the legal and political complexities surrounding the councils’ leadership.
“The local government matter is very complicated. Politically and legally, it has passed over layers and layers of complexity. Now, when you want to resolve it, it’s not a straight-jacket thing. It’s not something you just bring a hammer and make a pronouncement on because it’s so complicated.”
Explaining the issues complicating the negotiations, the spokesperson said the dispute involved APC-backed council chairmen and councillors whose tenure, according to him, expired on October 25, 2025, as well as Peoples Democratic Party chairmen and councillors who were elected but had yet to assume office amid concerns about possible violence.
He also cited questions surrounding the handling of local government funds and purchases allegedly made by the APC-backed council officials, saying the issues required careful consideration to achieve a lasting resolution.
“You have the YES/NO whose non-existent tenure has lapsed since October 25, 2025,” Rasheed said. “Secondly, you have the duly elected PDP chairmen and councillors who have not resumed because of the need to avoid violence.”
“You have handling of money and buying of some stuff by the YES/NO chairmen. It’s so complicated.
“What the governor and the Presidency are doing is to set up a negotiation team to iron out how best we can resolve it. In fact, the negotiation is almost reaching the final stage, and the negotiation continues to resolve the matter. All this will be over before the election,” he said.
