Adeleke accused Oyetola of issuing illegal directives to security operatives in an attempt to enforce the unlawful return of sacked local government chairmen.

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has raised an alarm about an alleged plot by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, to instigate unrest in the state.

Adeleke accused Oyetola of issuing illegal directives to security operatives in an attempt to enforce the unlawful return of sacked local government chairmen.

As a World Press Conference on Sunday, the governor alleged that Oyetola, in collaboration with the Osun State Commissioner of Police, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Commandant of the Civil Defence Corps, was using his connection as President Bola Tinubu’s nephew to push through illegal actions.

Adeleke insisted that President Tinubu, whom he described as a true democrat, would not endorse actions capable of leading to bloodshed.

He warned that Oyetola’s alleged scheme, set to begin on Monday, could plunge Osun into chaos.

“The evil plot is being spearheaded by Mr. Gboyega Oyetola in active collaboration with security agencies. He is issuing illegal directives simply because he is the President’s nephew,” Adeleke stated.

The governor clarified that the local government chairmen in question were sacked by two Federal High Court judgments before he assumed office.

He dismissed claims that his administration was responsible for their removal.

According to Adeleke, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) had a partial victory in an appeal against one of the judgments, the ruling contained no consequential order reinstating the sacked officials.

Meanwhile, the APC’s appeal against a separate judgment that upheld their removal was unsuccessful, making that ruling still legally binding.

He stressed that the only legal option available to the APC was to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court rather than resorting to alleged political maneuvers.

“I have chosen to alert the nation before my people are killed or maimed by a minister dropping the President’s name to justify illegality,” Adeleke said.

The governor urged President Tinubu and the public to intervene and prevent what he described as an abuse of power that could destabilise Osun State.

Adeleke said, "We call on legal luminaries and the Nigerian Bar Association to fact-check our claims by reading and interpreting the judgments. Even a layman can comprehend the meaning except those with an agenda to destroy the peace and progress of Osun state.

"In a democratic society governed by the rule of law, we all must submit to the law. If we are dissatisfied with the outcome of a court process, we can appeal to the next court to end at the Supreme Court. If you are not sure of the meaning and intent of a court judgment, the system expects you to apply for interpretation again through the court system.”

The governor said it is illegal, unconstitutional, and anti-democratic for Oyetola to take the law into his own hands.

He said for a serving minister, the person of Mr Gboyega Oyetola to lead the charge to violate the constitution and foment violence over a judicial process is not only shameful but is sadism and treason taken too far.

"We have it on good authority that Mr Gboyega Oyetola has instructed the Osun State Commissioner of Police,  the state Director of the DSS and the state Commandant of civil defence corps to mobilise security operatives from within Osun to effect the non-existent judgement by forcefully taking over the local governments on Monday,” he said.

Adeleke alleged that Mr Oyetola and the police boss have been holding a series of meetings on how to carry out the “illegal operations”.

"We affirm that Mr Gboyega Oyetola has no constitutional authority to issue directives to the security agencies.

"The fact that Mr Oyetola is nephew of Mr. President does not confer any such authority on him.

"We see this as a gross betrayal of trust reposed in the Osun state security officers by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," Adeleke stated.

He said, "I want to state that the current nefarious activities of Mr Oyetola and bosses of Osun security agencies constitute grave incitement. These need to stop because we are neither interested in resorting to self-help nor in support of violence to resolve political matters. As much as we are law-abiding people, we are fierce protectors of our rights, at night and by the day.

"I want to place on notice the Nigerian Public, and our friends in the diplomatic community and the lovers of democracy and rule of law that our people will not accept any attempt to impose illegality and anarchy on us.

"We will not allow any takeover of the local government except through a judicial pronouncement or a democratic process.”

The governor said the state government will “vehemently reject any ploy to deploy a non-existing court order to achieve local political power”.

He continued, "I therefore appeal to Mr President who is a renowned democrat to insist on the rule of law by instructing the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of DSS, the Commandant General of the Civil Defense Corps not to obey an illegal order from his nephew, Mr Gboyega Oyetola. The Osun State security chiefs should also be called to order.

"I call on Mr President to instruct the National Security Adviser, and the Attorney General of the Federation, to personally verify the fact that the Court of Appeal judgement did not reinstate the sacked local government chairmen and councilors and the fact that, there is a subsisting judgement of Court that sacked the chairmen and councillors produced by the 2022 local government polls.”

Adeleke noted that the Nigerian public should hold Mr Oyetola and the Osun state security chiefs responsible for any breakdown of law and order in the state tomorrow, Monday, and beyond.

He said it is unfortunate that the state security chiefs are taking instructions from Mr Gboyega Oyetola just because he is the nephew of Mr. President.

"As much as we will do our best to maintain peace, we call on men and women of goodwill to intervene before it is too late," Adeleke added.