Following the declaration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, his supporters on Monday, trooped into the local government secretariats and motor parks in the state in the bid to take over the leadership.

Before the election, supporters of the APC candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO) had sacked Adeleke’s supporters from the motor parks and took control of the structures while Adeleke’s men were also ousted from the secretariats.

Adeleke’s supporters on Monday invaded the local government Secretariats to take over from officials elected on the platform of APC.

Recall that after losing the 2022 governorship election to Adeleke, former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola conducted local government election and swore in the new local government chairmen and councilors before he left the office.

After Adeleke’s swearing in in November 2022, he sent the local government chairmen and councilors away and appointed caretaker committees into the local government councils.

The matter became a subject of litigations with various courts giving contradictory rulings, leading to bloody clashes across the state in which several people were killed including the Chairman of Irewole Local Government, Ikire, Mr Remi Abass.

Adeleke conducted another local government election in February 2025 in which PDP swept the poll after APC boycott the election.

After their election, Adeleke swore in the new local government chairmen but restrained them from resuming work at the local government councils to prevent further clashes with the APC elected chairmen who were still occupying the local government councils.

Though the matter is still in court and both parties are awaiting court verdict to determine the legally recognized elected local government officials.

Adeleke said the APC elected officials had completed their terms but they insisted that their tenure was disrupted and prayed the court to determine their actual tenure.

The Federal High Court in Osogbo dismissed the case filed by APC elected officials on the tenure determination or extension but APC elected chairmen appealed the decision of the high court. The Appeal Court has not decided on the APC elected chairmen’s appeal.

The re-election of Adeleke for the second term on Saturday encouraged his supporters to invade the local government councils Secretariat to chase out APC elected chairmen and councilors for the PDP elected chairmen and councilors.

The Osun State Police Command warned that forceful takeover of local government could cause a breach of the peace and appealed to residents to be law-abiding.

The CP, Samuel Etaifo Erale, warned against forceful takeover and premises of local government secretariats in the state when the matter remains before the court.

He said, “The Police Command wishes to state clearly that no individual, political group, or association has the right to resort to self-help or the use of force to assume control of any local government area or public institution while judicial proceedings are ongoing.”

At the motor parks, the leadership is usually based on the faction of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) that supports the political party in control of the state.

Since Adeleke became the governor in 2022, the motor park leader loyal to him, Nuru Alowonle, was in control but the motor park leader loyal to the APC, Kazeem Oyewale and his team, invaded the motor parks a couple of weeks before the election and took over.

Alowonle succumbed because of heavy security presence in the state but eventually staged a comeback after the announcement of Adeleke as the winner of the Saturday governorship election.

The Lagos State Government has reiterated its prohibition on the permanent or everyday use of dealer number plates by motorists and vehicle dealers.

The Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, Mrs Bolanle Ogunlola, said this in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.

Ogunlola warned motorists and vehicle dealers against using dealer number plates for purposes outside those permitted by law.

She said the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law, 2018, restricted dealer plates to specific, time-limited activities.

According to her, permitted uses include authorised test drives, vehicle inspections, vehicle delivery or collection, and movement of unregistered vehicles.

She said such movement must be directly from ports or authorised dealer premises to designated locations.

“Their use for private daily commuting, continuous operation on public roads, or on vehicles already sold is prohibited,” Ogunlola said.

She noted that the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) had apprehended 175 vehicles for violating regulations governing dealer number plates.

Ogunlola said the dealer plates recovered from the affected vehicles would be confiscated, while the vehicles would undergo further investigation.

She warned that vehicles operating with unauthorised, fake, obscured or improperly used registration numbers would face enforcement action.

According to her, sanctions include impoundment and prosecution under relevant traffic laws.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has said that more than 4,000 abandoned mine pits exist across Plateau State.

Alake said the pits, many of which were dug by former mining companies, posed environmental and safety challenges but could be converted into productive ventures through proper rehabilitation.

He stated this in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise, following the death of seven people in a collapsed mine pit at Kassa, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of the state.

The minister described the incident as tragic and avoidable, warning artisanal miners against entering abandoned pits without the required licences and permits.

He urged miners to organise themselves into cooperatives and obtain necessary approvals to operate legally.

Alake said the large number of abandoned pits in Plateau was a legacy of the activities of the former Amalgamated Tin Mines Limited and its successor companies, Consolidated Tin Mines Limited and Nigerian Tin and Allied Products Limited.

He said the Federal Government had rehabilitated 59 abandoned mine pits, while introducing technology-driven measures to identify and assess thousands of others.

According to him, the ministry has entered into a public-private partnership to deploy Geographic Information System satellite mapping and Artificial Intelligence to locate and characterise the abandoned pits.

He said Plateau would be the pilot beneficiary of the initiative, which would also develop plans for the eventual reclamation of the sites.

Alake urged private investors to partner with the government to convert abandoned mine sites into productive ventures, including energy, tourism and fisheries projects.

He described public-private partnership as the “most proactive and fastest approach” to turning the abandoned pits into productive assets.

“The challenge before the state and the Federal Government is how to turn these potential pits of death into centres of joyful prosperity,” he said.