By Stephen Gbadamosi, Ibadan
There is fresh political heat in Osun State over the vexed issue of Local Government (LG) funds allegedly seized by the Federal Government (FG).
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-West State has countered the fresh claim by the Peoples Democratic Republic Party (PDP)-controlled state government that the FG is withholding the much-needed funds.
The State chapter of APC said contrary to “the misinformation contained in the press statement of the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, on Sunday that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is withholding the allocations of the Local Government councils,” we will like to painstakingly explain to the public that such insinuation is far from the truth of the matter, as no agency of the Federal Government is withholding the Local Government allocations.”
APC, in a statement by its State Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, on Sunday, August 10, in aligning itself to the FG’s earlier one, debunked the state government’s claims.
“What is transpiring is that the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) is acting in line with the Court of Appeal judgment of the 10th of February, 2025 which reinstated the APC Local Government Council Chairmen and Councilors.
“It is known to all and sundry that the defeated parties in the case failed to appeal the 10th of February, 2025 judgment, because they knew they lacked sufficient grounds to do so.
“The CBN, which hallmark is the rule of law, has been processing the payment of the allocations to the rightful Local Government Council Chairmen and Councilors and the process is close to conclusion in the due course.
“The “misinformation of the people” by the Osun State Commissioner for Information was obviously to misinform members of the public that the allocations should have been paid to Governor Ademola Adeleke who is the sponsor of the needless lingering six-month-old strike embarked upon by the glaringly partisan state chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in unfair and unethical solidarity with the state government.
“It is this same Governor Adeleke who has the history of victimising the monarchs in the state ever before the issue of the allocations of the Local Government Councils cropped up, that is now falsely putting up the role of the defender of the traditional rulers in the state.
“The fact of the development is that Senator Adeleke is not a serious governor, as a serious governor would not be away from his state for the planning of his nephew’s wedding ceremony for four weeks running.
“If there’s anyone that grounds the wheel of administration in the state, it is Governor Adeleke who sacked 1,500 teachers, hundreds of health workers and 20,000 O’YES Corp members employed by his predecessor without making a deserving replacement for them.
“In addition, the same Governor Adeleke, through his Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, also asked, by a pending suit, the Federal High Court to direct the CBN to refuse to pay the Chairmen and Councilors the funds and all these facts are in the public domain.
“It is in the public domain that the Governor Adeleke-led administration is owing the Local Government Councils in the state a total sum of N84 billion, being the amount of the allocations it illegally withdrew contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court which gives an unfettered autonomy to the Local Government Council areas in Nigeria.
“It is the duty of the people of the state to query Governor Adeleke how his office squandered N3.1 billion on travellings in the first half of this year without having anything to show for it.
“It is not too far to forget how Governor Adeleke’s ploy to rubbish the judiciary in the state through his failed efforts to sack the State Chief Judge were vehemently rebuffed,” APC spokesman said.
Earlier, again, Osun government had called on
the FG to release the state LGs’ allocations in recognition and compliance with the recent Court of Appeal judgment on the LG leadership tussle.
The government also said it welcomed and supported the intervention of traditional rulers and other leaders of thought to secure the immediate release of the funds to stop “the current hardship the fund seizure is inflicting on grassroots communities” across the state.
The government, in a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, yesterday too, affirmed that there was no legal or political basis for withholding the allocations, asserting that “before the law today, the elected Chairmen and Councilors that were produced based on the Local Government election of 22nd February, 2025, are the official leadership of the Local Governments in Osun State.
“We are aware that the Federal Government and, indeed, the Presidency have all the facts of the situation concerning Osun Local Governments and the reality remains that the court judgment sacking the APC yes/no election Chairmen and Councilors remains valid and was recently validated by the 13th June judgment of the Court of Appeal.
“As a matter of fact, there should not be any further controversy after the Appeal cyourt judgment recognising the elected Chairmen and Councilors who are products of the 22nd February Local Government election.
“We further submit that there is no judicial judgment halting the release of the withheld funds, as the Supreme Court judgment on Local Government autonomy has never been implemented and Osun State alone cannot be singled out from the 36 states, even if the apex judgment has come into effect.
“We clarify further that even if the Supreme Court judgment is applied to Osun State, the Local Government accounts for such payment must still be opened with the duly-elected officials of the 22nd February election and accredited local officials as signatories in line with the law passed by the State Assembly as provided by Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“Hence, there is still no ground to withhold the state’s Local Government allocations.
“As a government, we are aware that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu only got to know about the funds seizure from the Nigerian Tribune front page during the Eid (Ileya) holidays, which means that the Attorney-General of the Federation instructed the Accountant General of the Federation to withhold the funds without presidential approval.
“We, therefore, appeal to Mr. President to intervene and order the release of Osun Local Government allocations.
“We further support the plan by the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers to meet Mr. President on this matter. The Local Government crisis is beyond politics, as it has to do with governmental levels that directly affect the lives of our people. The intervention of our apolitical monarchs is, therefore, a welcome development.”
Alimi added that “as a government, we learnt that those who masterminded the funds’ seizure were targeting Governor Ademola Adeleke; but the real victims are the people of Osun State who are well at home with good governance delivery across Osun state.
“The attack on the State Governor has failed and we urge those behind the illegal move to abandon the anti-people path and release Osun Local Government funds without further delay.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State.
