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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has sued Governor Ademola Adeleke for appointing himself as the state’s Commissioner for Works.

In the suit filed at the Osun State High Court in Osogbo, the state capital, the APC also sued Mr Adeleke’s deputy, Kola Adewusi, over his appointment as the Commissioner for Sports and Special Needs.

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Mr Adeleke disclosed his and his deputy’s commissioner portfolios while inaugurating 25 commissioners in Osogbo on 19 July.

But the APC, through its lawyer, Sherif Oluyombo, has urged the court to determine whether Mr Adeleke’s action of appointing himself and Mr Adewusi as commissioners is not a violation of Section 183 of the Nigerian constitution.

Specifically, the party is asking the court to determine whether “a state governor can… during the period when he holds office as governor, hold any other executive office.

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Referencing Section 192(2) and (5) of the Nigerian constitution, the plaintiff prayed the court to determine whether “a person can be validly appointed a commissioner of the government of a state if his nomination is not forwarded to and received by the State’s House of Assembly for purposes of confirmation.”

Aside from Messrs Adeleke and Adewusi, the plaintiff listed the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Osun State House of Assembly as defendants.

It urged the court to declare Messrs Adeleke and Adewusi’s appointments as commissioners “unconstitutional.”

The APC prayed the court for an order “nullifying” Mr Adeleke’s “appointment of himself as the commissioner for works for Osun State for being invalid, null and void contrary to sections 183 and 192(2) and (5) of the Constitution…”

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The party is equally praying to the court for an order “nullifying” the appointment of Mr Adewusi as the State commissioner for sports and special needs for being “invalid and contrary” to the constitution.

Furthermore, the plaintiff urged the court to restrain Mr Adeleke from “parading himself and/or performing the functions of the office of the commissioner for works for Osun State while he holds the office of governor of the state.”

Similarly, the APC prayed the court to restrain Mr Adewusi from “parading himself as commissioner…until he is nominated as such by” by Mr Adeleke, and the former’s nomination goes through parliamentary screening for the “purposes of confirmation.”

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The suit was filed on 21 July but has not been assigned to a judge for a hearing.

Mr Adeleke defeated former Governor Adegbyega Oyetola of the APC to emerge as governor last year.

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