Sunday 9 May 2021: The All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Oyo State has called for the postponement of the local government election scheduled for May 22, 2021 so as to allow the party takes part in the exercise.
APC chairman in Oyo State, Chief Akin Oke, made the call on Saturday at a press conference organised by the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
The party also said that the ruling of the Supreme Court which on Friday declared the dissolution of the local government administration in the state by Governor ‘Seyi Makinde as illegal, has vindicated it.
Recall the Supreme Court on Friday declared the controversial dissolution of the local government administration in the state as illegal.
According to him,  “We could not be part of the preparation for that election at the initial stage because we felt the dissolution of democratically elected chairmen and councillors was illegal.
“Now that we have been vindicated, it is thus right for the government to give a level playing field in order for us to test our popularity,” he said.
Earlier, the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Prince Abass Aleshinloye, had thanked all those who contributed to the victory.
He dedicated the victory to the immediate past two- term governor of Oyo State, the late Abiola Ajimobi, who he said was instrumental to the victory based on his support.
“He was the driving force who advised that we should not cause problems in the state, but to follow the rule of law by going to court,” he said.
Local government administration in Oyo State has been beset with crises since the dissolution of the democratically elected council chairmen and councilors by Governor Seyi Makinde shortly after he was sworn into office in May 2019.
Makinde had sacked the chairmen of the 33 local governments and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) elected in May 2018 for a three-year tenure during the Ajimobi administration.
In their stead, Makinde had appointed caretaker chairmen, and the matter had been an object of litigation since then.
A lower court had granted a perpetual injunction against the Oyo State government from sacking electoral council officials, but that injunction was eventually lifted by an Appeal Court, and the matter proceeded to the Supreme Court, which fixed May 7 this year for its ruling.