Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has condemned the Federal High Court judgment that ordered the deregistration of five political parties, insisting that the decision was delivered in defiance of a subsisting order of the Court of Appeal.
In a statement issued on Monday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke described the judgment as an abuse of court process and questioned the propriety of the lower court proceeding with the case despite an existing appellate court directive.
The governor specifically referenced the Court of Appeal proceedings of May 22, 2026, arguing that the appellate court had already ordered a stay of proceedings in the matter.
According to him, the record of those proceedings was tendered before the Federal High Court and admitted as Exhibit MAC 2.
Adeleke maintained that the Court of Appeal had made it clear that the delivery of judgment formed part of the proceedings that were subject to the stay order.
“It is on record before Honourable Justice Peter Lifu that the record of proceedings of the Court of Appeal of 22nd May, 2026 was put before his Lordship as Exhibit MAC 2,” the statement said.
“The Court of Appeal specifically pronounced that the delivery of the judgment is still part of the proceedings of the court.”
The governor, whose party, Accord, is among those affected by the ruling, expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved in favour of the party when the appeal comes up for hearing on Tuesday.
He urged residents and supporters to remain calm, assuring them that Accord would participate in the Osun governorship election scheduled for August 15.
“I call on Osun people to remain calm and be assured that our rights will be affirmed and our party, the Accord, will be on the ballot on August 15th,” Adeleke stated.
The governor also dismissed concerns that the court judgment could affect his party’s preparations for the election, insisting that campaign activities would continue as planned.
“We will not only be on the ballot, we will win overwhelmingly the forthcoming governorship election. We should remain calm and forge ahead with mobilisation of our people,” he said.
Adeleke further declared that the official flag-off of the party’s governorship campaign would proceed as scheduled, describing the court action as an attempt to distract the party ahead of the election.
“I also want to assure our people that the flag-off of our campaign is holding as scheduled tomorrow. They want to distract us. We are going ahead and we are winning this election. Our lawyers are taking all the necessary steps to right the wrong,” he added.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including Accord, over their failure to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration.
