Local Government Chairman Attempts to Take Over Secretariat After Adeleke's Win

The ongoing struggle for control of Osun State’s 30 local governments is back in the spotlight after Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election. One council chairman, who has been locked out of his office for over a year, tried to take over the local government secretariat on Monday.

A video shared on Monday shows supporters of Mr Adeleke and his Accord Party gathered at the Odo Otin Local Government Area secretariat. Adewale Adeyinka, elected chairman in the February 2025 local government election, tried to return to his office.

Mr Adeyinka seemed to want to capitalize on the excitement from Governor Adeleke’s recent election win. He aimed to break the year-long deadlock that has kept him and other elected officials from the local government secretariats across the state.

“Today, the authentic Executive Chairman of Odo Otin Local Government, Adewale Adeyinka, has resumed back to the office,” a post with the video stated.

PREMIUM TIMES could not get in touch with Mr Adeyinka. Calls to his phone went unanswered. He has not made any public statement about his return.

This development follows closely after Mr Adeleke, from the Accord Party, defeated Bola Oyebamiji from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 511,067 votes in the Saturday, August 15 governorship election.

But just because Mr Adeyinka has resumed in Odo Otin does not mean that all 30 councils are now run by chairmen aligned with Governor Adeleke. PREMIUM TIMES has only confirmed this situation in Odo Otin so far.

Mr Adeyinka was elected as a local government official from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the council elections held in February last year under Governor Adeleke’s administration.

When the local council elections took place, Mr Adeleke was still part of the PDP, which won all chairmanship and councilorship seats in the state. He later left the troubled PDP and joined the Accord Party, along with his supporters, including local government officials.

The February 2025 local council elections happened amidst ongoing issues following the dissolution of former officials elected under the APC during former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s government.

The continued fight between the sacked APC officials and the Osun State Government, led by Governor Adeleke, has caused chaos in local governments across the state. This conflict has led to local government secretariats being shut down and officials being denied access to government allocations, leading to many legal battles.

Court decisions have had little effect in resolving the situation, as each side tends to interpret the rulings to support their claims to control the local governments.

Some members of Mr Adeleke’s camp might see the governor’s recent election victory as a chance to regain control of the local governments after years of disputes over legitimate authority.

This situation could mark a new effort by Adeleke’s administration and its supporters to take charge of the councils after years of legal and political fights over who has the right to run the local governments.

Ongoing Conflict

The local government issue goes back to the last months of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s administration. In October 2022, APC candidates won the council elections.

After Mr Adeleke took office in November 2022, his government dissolved the APC-led councils based on a court ruling that canceled the election. This led to a long legal battle and various attempts by both sides to control council secretariats.

The conflict escalated in February 2025 when the Court of Appeal reinstated the APC council officials. At the same time, the Adeleke administration held another local government election on February 22, 2025.

Candidates from the PDP, Mr Adeleke’s former party, won the elections across the state, resulting in two groups of officials claiming legitimacy.

The continued struggle for control of the councils has turned violent. Five people died during one clash between rival groups trying to take over the secretariats. This includes Aderemi Abbas, the APC-elected chairman of Irewole Local Government Area, who was elected in the October 15, 2022 council election.

This conflict also affected the councils’ finances. The Federal Government withheld local government allocations while the argument continued over who had the legal right to run the councils.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed Osun’s case seeking the release of the withheld funds. The court also criticized the Federal Government for taking the local government funds.

New Effort to Reclaim Control

The latest events suggest that the political changes after Mr Adeleke’s re-election could reopen the question of who controls the council secretariats.

There were already attempts by PDP-elected chairmen to return to several councils in June 2026, following a Federal High Court ruling. Reports at that time stated that chairmen regained access to councils like Ede North, Ede South, Iwo, Boripe, and Ila, though some faced resistance.

APC officials opposed this move and claimed they sought a stay of execution.

Mr Adeyinka’s attempt to resume in Odo Otin happens in a complicated environment where different political factions continue to claim control of the councils.

For the people living in the area, this dispute is more than just a political issue. The confusion over who manages the councils affects local government operations and creates problems related to finances and staff activities. Reports in 2025 also revealed disagreements over council budgets and access to funds.