Cynthia Ezegwu
The Osun State chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are at loggerheads over the alleged improper disbursement of six months’ statutory allocations for local government councils in the state.
NULGE, through its chairman, Dr Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, on Sunday accused the Federal Government of releasing the allocations for March to August 2025 into accounts opened by local government chairmen and councillors elected during the October 15, 2022, elections, which were later nullified by the courts.
Ogungbangbe alleged that the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun; the Accountant General of the Federation, Babatunde Ogunjimi; and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, abused their offices by authorising the payments despite pending legal disputes.
According to him, the payments were made into accounts opened with United Bank for Africa Plc by the sacked APC chairmen and councillors, in disregard of a Federal High Court order directing parties to maintain the status quo. He noted that the matter is still before the Supreme Court, and warned that the action could trigger unrest in the state.
“The Attorney-General cannot assume the role of the Supreme Court by setting aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the sacking of the APC politicians by the Federal High Court. The Attorney-General is not above the law,” Ogungbangbe said, insisting that local government workers would not return to their duty posts until the issue was resolved.
In a swift reaction, the Osun APC dismissed the allegations as false and politically motivated. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, the party maintained that the allocations were paid into the councils’ official accounts and not into private accounts of its members.
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Olabisi also argued that the Court of Appeal judgment of February 10, 2025, which reinstated the APC local government chairmen and councillors, remains valid and unchallenged. He accused NULGE of siding with Governor Ademola Adeleke and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to create confusion over the funds.
“The NULGE need not weave a series of lies in respect of the payment of the federal allocations for the local government councils in order to curry unmerited favour from the discerning members of the public,” the statement read.
The APC further called on security agencies, including the police, Department of State Services, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to remain vigilant in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order in the state.
Efforts to reach Osun PDP spokesperson, Oladele Bamiji, for comments were unsuccessful as he neither picked his calls nor responded to text messages sent to him.