As Osun Cries out to Tinubu Over LG Funds

The Osun State government last week cried out, calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene over the withholding of the state’s local government allocation, which it said has led to hardship for the people in grassroots communities across the state, Wale Igbintade writes

The Osun State Government has again appealed to President Bola Tinubu to release the state’s local government allocations in recognition and compliance with the recent Court of Appeal judgment on the state’s local government leadership.

Since the local government elections in the state last February, the councils have been underfunded following an appeal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the federal government to withhold funds due to them from the Federation Account. This has exacerbated poverty in the state.

According to a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, the continued withholding of the allocation has led to hardship for the people at the grassroots across the state.

The statement affirmed that there is no legal or political basis for withholding the allocations, asserting that “before the law today, the elected chairmen and councillors that were produced based on the local government elections of 22nd February,2025, are the official leadership of the local governments in Osun State”.

The statement further said, “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 judgement 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.

“We further submit that there is no judicial judgment halting the release of the withheld fund as the Supreme Court judgement 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, 2025 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, the statement noted.

The state government commended the intervention of traditional rulers in trying to secure the immediate release of the fund. Recall that Ataajo of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, during the grand finale of Osun Osogbo festival, urged President Tinubu to release the withheld allocations to Governor Adeleke.

Recall that since the local government elections were held in the state last February, the federal government has withheld funds due to them from the Federation Account, following a petition by the APC.

APC had accused Governor Adeleke of violating his oath of office by conducting the polls and colluding with his party to disrupt peace by refusing to comply with the February 10, 2025, Court of Appeal ruling that ordered the reinstatement of the sacked elected local government officials.

The state government and the PDP, however, countered the APC argument, citing a case the APC lost at the same Federal High Court, the appeal on which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on January 13, 2025 for lack of diligent prosecution. 

They added that the state Independent Electoral Commission conducted another election on February 21, 2025, where a new set of LG officials emerged.

Currently, the state government is at the Supreme Court seeking an order to release the seized funds and restrain it from further withholding the funds.

It argued that based on a proper interpretation of Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)—which guarantees the existence of democratically-elected local government councils in all states—the federal government’s act of withholding or seizing statutory allocations due to the councils, without justification, threatens their existence and therefore violates the clear provisions of the Constitution.

The state cited the Supreme Court judgment in the dispute between the Lagos State government and the federal government, where the court declared that the withholding of the allocations to the state was illegal and unconstitutional.

Besides, many believe the federal government’s decision to withhold allocations to local councils in Osun contrasts sharply with its inaction in Edo State, where despite the sack of democratically-elected local government executives, allocations continue to flow. This has led to allegations of double standards against the APC-led federal government, which is also accused of bias, hypocrisy and inconsistency.

Shortly after assuming office, Governor Monday Okpebholo, acting on the advice of the Edo State House of Assembly, suspended all 18 local government chairmen and their deputies for what was supposed to be two months over alleged insubordination. But unfortunately, this has become forever.

Before then, Okpebholo had petitioned the state assembly, accusing the chairmen of refusing to submit financial records of their respective councils to the state government—an act he described as gross misconduct and insubordination.

The state assembly subsequently ordered the suspended officials to hand over to the legislative leaders of their local governments.

The suspension was seen as a blatant disregard to both the ruling of the Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, and the Supreme Court judgment in a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, which reaffirmed absolute autonomy and independence of local governments as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

Ironically, among the first to react to the action was Fagbemi himself who unequivocally declared the action illegal and unconstitutional.

Speaking in Abuja on December 19, 2024, the AGF stated that the actions of the Edo State government violated the autonomy granted to LGAs by the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment of July 11, 2024.

“One thing that I know and can say without fear is that under the present dispensation, no governor has the right to remove any local government chairman. That much I know. If I did not know before, since July 11, 2024, I became aware that removal of any local government chairman or official would be the prerogative of that local government, through their legislative house,” the AGF stated.

However, the state government berated the AGF, saying that Governor Okpebholo and the state assembly have the power to remove local government officials from office.

“Financial autonomy is about giving them access, but that does not mean state governments do not have control over how they use that money. The Supreme Court cannot amend the Constitution. Lateef Fagbemi might be the law officer of the federation, but he does not represent the constitution of the country and he does not represent other laws made validly under the provisions of the constitution by the Edo House of Assembly,” the state government insisted through a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor (CPS), Fred Itua.

As the controversy raged, a High Court in Benin City, presided over by Justice Efe Ikponmwonba, ruled in a suit filed by the suspended chairmen, ordering that they should return to office. However, the state government felt unconcerned and ensured that the suspended local government officials did not return to office.

Despite various court judgments ordering the reinstatement of some of the council chairmen, the state government has not complied as Governor Okpebholo has since gone ahead to handpick leaders to head the councils in clear violation of the Supreme Court decision.

The question agitating the minds of many Nigerians is: Why did the APC-led federal government seize the statutory allocations of Osun LGAs and allow those of Edo State, which are being run by non-democratically elected officials to receive their allocations?

The federal government must be fair and just to all the states irrespective of party affiliations. Its action in Osun State lacks any known judicial backing. 

Already, the Osun State PDP has described the federal government’s action as politically-motivated, and called on Fagbemi to rise above personal and partisan considerations, and act as the guardian of justice and fairness for all Nigerians, regardless of party affiliation.

The party added that since Fagbemi had previously served as lead counsel to former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, a known political enemy of Governor Adeleke, the AGF ought to recuse himself from any matter directly or indirectly affecting the political ecosystem of the state, and allow the law courts to decide as appropriate.