- APC chairmen still lay claim to councils despite guber defeat
- Reactions as Adeleke’s aide kidnaps self to extort top officials
At least 30 local government areas in Osun State have been without statutory allocations for more than 16 months, crippling grassroots development, following a face-off over council elections.
Findings show that the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu stopped releasing funds to the councils in March 2025, shortly after the state conducted local government polls in February 2025.
The election was contested by the All Progressives Congress, sparking a prolonged legal and political battle over the legitimacy and control of the councils.
A review of official revenue sharing data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee indicates that about N216 billion earmarked for Osun’s 30 LGAs was withheld between March 2025 and June 2026.
The figure includes N131.5 billion not released between March and December 2025, and another N85.3 billion withheld between January and June 2026.
Allocations for July to September 2026 were yet to be determined at the time of filing this report.
According to FAAC documents, Osun’s councils were to receive N11.9 billion in March 2025, N11.2 billion in April, N11.7 billion in May, and N12.1 billion in June.
The monthly entitlement rose to N12.8 billion in July, N14 billion in August, N14.4 billion in September, N15.8 billion in October, N14.6 billion in November, and N13.09 billion in December, bringing the 10-month total to N131.5 billion.
The seizure extended into 2026, with the councils due N14.06 billion in January, N14.5 billion in February, N12.8 billion in March, N13.7 billion in April, N15.4 billion in May, and N14.9 billion in June, amounting to N85.3 billion for the half-year.
.The development has fueled legal and political tension between the Federal and Osun State Governments, with the matter eventually reaching the Supreme Court.
In its lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, the apex court ruled that the action was unconstitutional, describing it as a “grave breach of the 1999 Constitution.”
Justice Idris said “the hand of the federal government was soiled” by the decision and ordered that the funds be “directly channeled to local accounts.”
The court also dismissed contempt claims brought against the Osun State Government by the Attorney-General of the Federation, stating that he was “in more contempt than Osun by not paying the fund as required by law.”
However, the Supreme Court faulted the Osun State Government for filing the suit without showing proof that it got the consent of the affected local governments.
“There was no evidence that Osun Attorney General was briefed by the local governments,” Justice Idris held.
In a dissenting view, Justice Emmanuel Agim argued that the Osun Attorney-General had the powers to initiate the case, describing the Federal Government’s action as “in bad taste because it was capable of crippling the activities of the Councils.”
The crisis has also triggered other litigations. In September 2025, the High Court of Justice of Oyo State issued an interim injunction stopping United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc, from releasing statutory allocations belonging to Osun’s 30 LGAs pending determination of the substantive suit.
Earlier in March, residents staged protests at some UBA branches in Osogbo and Ilesa, accusing the bank of complicity in handling the council funds.
Governor Ademola Adeleke has repeatedly lamented that the withheld funds are crucial for salary payments and basic service delivery, including for primary school teachers, nurses and health workers in 332 primary healthcare centres, council staff, traditional councils and pensioners.
The Osun State Government has accused the APC of being behind the continued seizure of the allocations.
Many residents had thought that the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the August 15 governorship election would have laid the battle for the control of the third tier of government to rest. However, weeks after the APC suffered defeat at the poll, the opposition party’s chairmen are still laying claim to leadership in most of local areas.
Observers have said that the people at the grassroots have been at the receiving end of this control tussle as the basic amenities that should have come to the local areas have been stagnated.
ADELEKE’S AIDE ABDUCTS SELF FOR EXTORTION
Shakirulahi Babatunde, an aide to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, has allegedly kidnapped himself with the aim of extorting the state government.
Confirming the development, spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, in a statement on Wednesday, said the state police command is investigating the incident.
Rasheed debunked report that top officials in the Adeleke-led administration are working underground to pressure the police into dropping the matter.
“Our attention has been drawn to a reported case of self -kidnapping by one of the governor’s media aides, Shakirulahi Babatunde. We immediately want the public to know that the police are investigating the matter without any pressure from the state government,” Rasheed said in the statement.
He also debunking rumours making the rounds that the Chief of Staff, Kazeem Akinleye and other top government officials are working to prevent police from investigating the case.
Giving insight into the matter, he said, “It would be recalled that when the media aide sent a text message that he had been kidnapped, an incident report was immediately lodged with the police under the instruction of the Chief of Staff.
The matter was further reported to the Anti Kidnapping Squad of Osun State Police Command which swung into action as a signal of transparency and readiness for law enforcement.
It was therefore falsehood from the pit of hell to assert that the Chief of Staff or any state official was trying to prevent the police from conducting investigation into a matter which the state government originally reported to the police service.
We categorically denied the fake news that there were attempts by the state officials to bribe the police to sweep the matter under the carpet. Such reports are unfounded and baseless conjectures.
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Nobody in the government is attempting to bribe the police and the police have not received any kobo from state officials as libelously asserted in a publication.
The police are currently investigating the matter while the state government is also waiting for the outcome of the investigation for further action.
We therefore call on members of the public to ignore any misinformation designed to tarnish the image of state officials or the police as relevant police units are currently investigating the entire episode.
Governor Adeleke and top state officials are committed to transparency and law enforcement. No state official would therefore be involved in preventing law enforcement agencies from exercising their mandate.”
The police is yet to make any public statement on the development as of the time of this report.
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