Adeleke signs Osun park Management Bill into law amid opposition from APC

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has signed the state’s Park Management Bill into law, after persistent violence over control of motor parks prompted his administration to suspend activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and announce plans for a new management system.

Mr Adeleke signed the legislation on Monday at the Government House in Osogbo, saying it would address what he described as longstanding challenges in the state’s transport park system and modernise the sector.

“Having signed this bill into law, I assure all stakeholders that implementation will commence in earnest. In line with the law, we will ensure that Osun people and other interests are accommodated for efficient service delivery across the state,” Mr Adeleke said while signing the Bill.

“I applaud the House Speaker and members of the House for always acting in the best interest of the state. I have gone through the bill as passed by the House and I am convinced that it is the best solution to the perennial crisis and challenges facing the Osun transportation park system,” the governor added.

The Osun State House of Assembly passed the bill on 23 September during its proceedings and forwarded it to Mr Adeleke for assent.

However, the signing of the bill comes amid a constitutional dispute over the authority of the state government to regulate and manage motor parks.

The earlier passage of the legislation had generated opposition from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, which argued that the state legislature lacked the constitutional authority to take over the regulation and management of motor parks.

The party relied on Section 7(1) and the Fourth Schedule of the Nigerian constitution, arguing that the administration and revenue collection associated with public motor parks fall under the functions of democratically elected local government councils.

It warned that implementing the legislation could create further conflict in the state and called for its withdrawal.

However, the House of Assembly rejected the argument. The lawmakers said the APC was relying on a selective interpretation of the constitution and argued that the fact that motor parks are listed among local government functions does not automatically remove the matter from the legislative competence of a state House of Assembly.

The assembly also cited Section 100 of the constitution, which sets out the procedure for exercising the legislative powers of a state House of Assembly through bills passed by the legislature and assented to by the governor.

It challenged the APC to approach the courts if the party believed the legislation was unconstitutional.

“If the APC genuinely believes that the law is unconstitutional, the courts are open to it,” the Assembly said.

House Speaker Adewale Egbedun, who spoke before the signing of the bill on Monday, said the assembly complied with its standing rules in processing and passing the bill and described the legislation as providing answers to concerns surrounding the state’s transport sector.

The crisis that prompted bill

The latest development follows months of tension and violence linked to disputes over control of motor parks in Osun.

On 14 September, Mr Adeleke banned NURTW activities in the state after Olalekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade, an associate of the governor and Accord Party chief, was shot dead at Mayfair motor park in Ile-Ife.

Mr Oyeyemi was also involved in the transport sector and had served on a government-appointed transport committee. The Osun State Police Command subsequently recovered another corpse from the park in Ile-Ife.

Following the killings, the governor directed rival groups involved in the leadership dispute to vacate motor parks and garages across the state and ordered security agencies to arrest those allegedly involved in the incident.

He also announced plans to reintroduce a Park Management System, initially saying he would issue an executive order to establish the new system.

Meanwhile, the state government in July had suspended NURTW activities in motor parks following a violent confrontation between rival factions. The government maintained that the union’s recognised leadership remained in place, while the national NURTW leadership rejected the suspension and later inaugurated a caretaker committee for the state.

The state government rejected the caretaker committee, insisting that there was no leadership vacuum in the Osun chapter.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported in August that two people were killed during a violent confrontation at the Naira and Kobo area of Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area, in an alleged attempt by a faction to take control of a garage.