The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the ongoing Governor Ademola Adeleke-led victimisation, oppression and dehumanisation of a sizeable number of the state government workers based on their perceived political leaning in the last 15th August, 2026 governorship election in the state.

Information has it that the state local government service commission under the chairmanship of Mr. Tunji Adeleke Jnr, Governor Adeleke’s nephew, has inaugurated a committee saddled with the responsibility of fishing out the local government workers across the state who gave their support for the opposition APC party during the election.

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It was gathered that the perceived electoral offenders of the local government workers’ extraction are being invited to face the investigative and disciplinary panel at its venue in the local government council commission, state Secretariat, Abere, Osun State.

It was also learnt that the affected local government staff were pointedly instructed to bring their telephones to the investigative and disciplinary panel which were subjected to rigorous and detailed searching with a view to finding out any likely communications between the invited local government workers and any member(s) of the APC before and during the governorship election.

Part of the terms of reference of the panel is also to find out any of the members of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE) who might be operating an account with the United Bank for Africa(UBA) which the Governor Adeleke-led administration is having issues with over the local government councils’ federal allocations.

Tongues are wagging across the state and beyond among the right-thinking members of the society as to the justification behind the action of any arm of government to have subjected its staff to victimisation, dehumanisation and oppression because of their political belief.

We are of the opinion that it is not proper for Governor Adeleke to have converted the workplace of some of the affected local government workers to an uncomfortable arena where political loyalty is being questioned alongside official duties.

Several council workers have reportedly been invited to appear before the government officials in Osogbo, where they were allegedly questioned about their political activities and subjected to scrutiny over their banking transactions while they were also drilled on whether they voted for the APC during the most recent governorship election. Their mobile phones were also examined, with particular attention reportedly paid to alerts and transactions involving United Bank for Africa (UBA).

The workers allege that the exercise was intended to identify those suspected of supporting the APC or maintaining relationships with APC-backed local government officials.

It was also gathered that some of the council workers were threatened with dismissal, suspension or other forms of disciplinary action because of their perceived political affiliations.

The state has been embroiled in a dispute over control of its 30 local government councils, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now Accord-led state government and APC-backed council officials taking opposing positions over who has lawful authority over the councils.

The APC and its supporters, however, have continued to dispute aspects of the government’s position and have accused the administration of victimising workers associated with the opposition.

In May 2026, an association describing itself as the Association of Concerned Local Government Workers alleged that more than 400 council workers had been suspended or removed from the state payroll for working with APC-reinstated local government officials.

It is our belief as a party that the news that workers’ phones and bank alerts are being examined to establish their political affiliations raises an important question on the nexus between legitimate administrative investigation and political surveillance.

It is beyond the constitutional authority of any tier of government to punish its staff for exercising their political choice at the ballot box as Nigeria’s electoral system is based on the principle of secret voting. Consequently, establishing how an individual voted is not ordinarily something that can simply be determined by inspecting a person’s phone or bank statement.

It is saddening that the Governor Adeleke-led government could choose the needless intimidation of the local government employees who occupy positions that ordinarily require continuity of service regardless of which political party controls government based on their political choice.

We urge Governor Adeleke to immediately reactivate all the local government staff accounts that have been deactivated for salary payment and put a stop to this sadistic approach to governance by dismantling the obnoxious committee that is acting ultra vires, and subsequently embarrassing his administration among the comity of other forward-moving states in Nigeria.

Mogaji KOLA OLABISI, Osun State APC Director of Media and Information.