Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has demanded the immediate release of over ₦130 billion in statutory allocations allegedly withheld from the state’s local governments.
Governor Adeleke so warned that the continued blockade is crippling grassroots governance and inflicting hardship on workers and residents.
Local governments across Osun State have been left without access to statutory funds amid an ongoing dispute over control of council secretariats, prompting calls for urgent federal intervention.
Governor Adeleke raised the alarm in a statewide broadcast on Monday and described the continued occupation of council offices as unlawful and damaging to grassroots administration.
He said the situation followed court rulings which, according to him, nullified the tenure of certain All Progressives Congress, APC, chairmen and councillors previously elected into office.
The governor noted that judgments delivered by the Federal High Court in Osogbo in November 2022, and upheld by the Court of Appeal in February and June 2025, invalidated the elections that brought the affected officials into office.
“These individuals were removed by the courts, not by my administration. Their continued presence in council Secretariats had no legal backing,” he insisted.
He explained that fresh local government elections were conducted in line with existing court orders, resulting in the inauguration of new chairmen and councillors on February 23, 2025.
According to the governor, “the current occupants of the secretariats were acting without lawful authority and had prevented duly elected officials and workers from carrying out their duties.”
Adeleke alleged that attempts by council staff to resume work had been met with intimidation, claiming that armed police officers and political thugs were deployed to block access to offices.
Central to the dispute, he said, was the non-release of local government allocations, which he put at more than ₦130 billion since February 2025.
“These funds belong to the people at the grassroots and are meant for essential services,” the governor said.
He listed beneficiaries of the allocations to include primary school teachers, health workers in 332 primary health centres, council employees, traditional councils and retirees.
The governor disclosed that the state government had been sourcing alternative funds to pay salaries for nearly a year, a measure he described as increasingly difficult to sustain.
“Governance is about responsibility and compassion, but this burden cannot be carried indefinitely,” Adeleke said.
He also accused the United Bank for Africa, UBA, of permitting unauthorised access to local government accounts, stating that senior officials of the bank were already facing criminal prosecution over the matter.
The governor questioned whether such actions would be tolerated in other jurisdictions where the bank operates, including London and New York.
Appealing directly to the Federal Government, Adeleke called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure the immediate release of the withheld allocations.
“There is no provision in our Constitution for tenure elongation. The situation posed a test between constitutional order and impunity,” he added.
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He urged residents of Osun State to remain peaceful and law-abiding, assuring them that his administration would continue to uphold the Constitution and protect their welfare.
