Less than 48 hours to Saturday’s local government election in Osun State, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has withdrawn its participation.
The party, in a letter addressed to the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), said its withdrawal was predicated on the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered in Akure on 10 February, which purportedly reinstated elected council chairpersons and councillors hitherto sacked by a Federal High Court in a judgement delivered in November 2022.
There was violence on Monday between supporters of the APC and those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in the state, after the sacked council chiefs tried to take over the council secretariats. The police confirmed six people were killed in the violence.
The sacked council chiefs are all members of the APC while the acting administrators are members of the PDP.
By Wednesday evening, the sacked chairpersons had taken over the 26 council secretariats in Osun State.
The state government had scheduled Saturday’s elections before the Appeal Court ruling, which interpretation is being disputed.