From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Osun State Government has called on the Federal Government to release the accrued local government allocations to the state in compliance with the recent Court of Appeal judgement.
The Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, had called on the Federal Government to release the seized local government funds to the state government.
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, in a statement on Sunday, August 10, lauded the intervention of the traditional ruler and other leaders of thought for advocating the release of the funds to stop the current hardship the fund seizure is inflicting on grassroots communities across the state.
Noting that there is no legal or political basis for withholding the allocations, Alimi said, “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.
“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 councillors remains valid and was recently validated by the 13th June judgement of the Court of Appeal.
“As a matter of fact, there should not be any further controversy after the appeal court judgement recognising the elected chairmen and councillors who are products of the 22nd February, 2025, local government elections.
“We further submit that there is no judicial judgement halting the release of the withheld funds, 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 judgement 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 of 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 fund 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.
“As a government, we learned that those who masterminded the fund 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,” Alimi added.
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