…Sacked LG officials can’t return to office -PDP

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The PDP has said the local government officials, whose elections were nullified, cannot return to office.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, yesterday, accused the APC resorting to self help in a bid to trigger a crisis in the state.

It cautioned the APC against an alleged attempt to drag President Bola Tinubu into the issue of local government election, as it is within the purview of the state.

“The PDP asserts that the fate of the ousted local government chairmen and councillors was sealed by the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the unconstitutional attempt to illegally plant them as local government officers in the guise of an election.

“The APC is the architect of its misfortune. It should have known that disregarding and refusing to comply with the provisions of the Constitution and the Osun State Local Government Election Laws with respect to the requirement on notices, processes and procedures of conducting local government election is destined to be fatal and irreparable.

“We counsel the Osun State APC to stop playing to the gallery by trying to bring in the exalted office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into disrepute by hopelessly dropping the President’s name at public spaces in their desperate but pathetic and unrealisable attempt to garner undeserved sympathy.

“The APC should note that our nation operates a federal system of government with clearly entrenched devolution of powers among the federating units, as well as the various sub-national tiers of government.

“It should, therefore, desist from the fruitless attempt to drag President Tinubu and the Federal Government into the issue of local government election which, under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), is within the purview of the state and has no connection whatsoever with the Federal Government.”

The opposition party challenged the APC to get ready for the local government election, already scheduled by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), if it believes that it is popular in the state.