President Bola Tinubu has reportedly opened peace talks with Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to end the crisis over control of local government councils between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the state government.
NEWSNGR understands that the face-off has led to violent clashes and a series of court cases.
A senior official of the Osun State Government, who spoke with Sunday Punch on Saturday, said the President set the process in motion when Adeleke visited him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the August 15 governorship election in the state.
According to the official, Tinubu then set up a small committee, led by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to develop a framework for settling the dispute, adding that talks had reached the final stage.
“Incidentally, we are in collaboration with the Presidency on the 2027 presidential election, and one of the issues people are angry about is the local government matter.
“Both sides thought, let’s find a way to look at the issues and resolve them. The Presidency and the state government set up a small committee to create a framework under which all these issues would be tackled. The committee would then come up with a position.
“After the resolution, both parties would go to court and settle out of court, and the local government system would return to normal,” the official said.
The source dismissed insinuations that the peace move was a recent development, insisting that the committee was formed soon after the governorship poll.
“After the election, when we visited the President, that was the day the committee was set up, it was not as if it was yesterday. It was the President who said, ‘Let’s set up this small committee to resolve this matter that is becoming complicated,’” the source added.
Confirming the development, the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said the Presidency and the state government were putting together a negotiation team to break the deadlock.
Speaking on a private radio programme in Osogbo on Wednesday, Rasheed said the talks had advanced significantly, though he said he was not aware of the details of the proposed deal because he was not part of the team.
He expressed hope that the matter would be resolved before the 2027 general elections, despite its legal and political complications.
“The local government matter is very complicated. Politically and legally, it has passed over layers and layers of complexity. Now, when you want to resolve it, it’s not a straight-jacket thing. It’s not something you just bring a hammer and make a pronouncement on because it’s so complicated,” he said.
Rasheed listed thorny issues, including the status of APC-backed council chairmen and councillors, whose tenure he said ended on October 25, 2025, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmen and councillors who were elected but have yet to assume office to avoid violence.
He also raised questions about the management of council funds and purchases allegedly made by APC-backed officials, stressing that these matters must be carefully addressed for any settlement to endure.
“You have the YES/NO whose non-existent tenure has lapsed since October 25, 2025. Secondly, you have the duly elected PDP chairmen and councillors who have not resumed because of the need to avoid violence.
“You have handling of money and buying of some stuff by the YES/NO chairmen. It’s so complicated.
“What the governor and the Presidency are doing is to set up a negotiation team to iron out how best we can resolve it. In fact, the negotiation is almost reaching the final stage, and the negotiation continues to resolve the matter. All this will be over before the election,” he said.
