By. Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq.
The Local Government elections scheduled for February 22, 2025, in Osun State are not just an administrative exercise; they are a constitutional imperative that no agency, institution, or advisory opinion can override or stop—not even the Governor of Osun State or the President of Nigeria has the power or right to stop them.
- No court of law in Nigeria has the jurisdiction to halt a constitutional obligation, as such an order would be an affront to the supremacy of the Constitution. It is an impossibility in law. This is the jurisprudence I subscribe to.
- The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is unequivocal in its provisions:
- Section 7(1) guarantees a system of democratically elected Local Government Councils, ensuring that governance at the grassroots is determined by the will of the people through periodic elections.
- Section 197(1)(b) vests in the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) the exclusive power to conduct local government elections.
- Sections 4(6) & (7) empower the State House of Assembly to legislate on local government matters, including the enactment of laws for the conduct of elections at that level.
- The Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), as established by law, has duly complied with these constitutional provisions by setting the stage for a democratic election. As of today, no competent court of law has issued any restraining order stopping this election, assuming without conceding any court could be right to stop a constitutional process.
- It is, therefore, a gross procedural flaw for the Nigeria Police Force to issue a public statement citing security threats as a basis for advising the suspension of a constitutionally mandated election.
- Security agencies are not constitutionally empowered to determine whether an election should hold or not. Their duty is clear: to protect lives and property, ensure public order, and provide security for democratic processes—not to undermine them. If the task of securing the state has become too much for them, they should be honest enough to admit it rather than hiding under the guise of intelligence reports to subvert the democratic process.
- Furthermore, it is both unprofessional and procedurally flawed for the Nigeria Police Force to issue security intelligence reports on social media platforms instead of deploying the necessary operational measures to maintain peace. A credible intelligence report should lead to strategic action, not to the abandonment of a fundamental democratic process.
- We call on the people of Osun State to remain resolute and committed to democracy. We urge eligible voters to turn out in large numbers, cast their votes peacefully, and resist any attempt to intimidate or discourage them from exercising their civic rights.
- To all security agencies, the role you play in this electoral process will set a precedent for the protection or subversion of democracy in Nigeria. You are duty-bound to uphold democracy, not sabotage it.
Democracy must prevail.
SIGNED:
Pelumi Olajengbesi Esq.
Legal Practitioner, Osogbo
21st, February, 2025
