Osun accounts’ freeze: Gov Adeleke blames Ex- governors

Osun state Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke and the opposition All Progressives Congress have traded blames over a Federal High Court order freezing State Government bank accounts over a $13.9 million arbitration award.

Justice D.E. Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had ordered commercial banks to place a “Post No Debit” restriction on accounts operated by the Osun State Government in favour of Gamji Nigeria Company Limited.

The order followed an application filed by Gamji through its counsel, Yunus AbdulSalam, SAN, in suit marked FHC/L/CS/1233/2026.

A Certified True Copy of the ruling showed the company is seeking to preserve $13,924,343.32 and N157.5m awarded to it after an arbitration proceeding arising from water infrastructure projects in Ilesa West Local Government Area.

Financial institutions affected include GTBank, Access Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, Ecobank, Fidelity, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Union Bank and Wema Bank, among others.

According to affidavit filed in support of the motion, the dispute stemmed from two contracts awarded to Gamji by Osun State Government in June 2017 for water infrastructure works under a Federal Ministry of Finance-facilitated Islamic Development Bank loan.

The projects involved construction of transmission mains, booster pump stations (Slot 1) and water reservoirs (Slot 2) for Ilesa West Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

Original contract values were $15.98m for Slot 1 and $9.70m for Slot 2, later revised to $20.24m and $10.95m respectively after engineering design alterations and scope variations.

Gamji claimed 93 per cent completion by October 2023, with a Substantial Completion Certificate issued on November 14, 2024.

Disagreements over extensions of time, price adjustments and escalated cost of materials led to failed mediation and arbitration notice on April 3, 2025. Osun Government accepted and nominated its arbitrator, with preliminary proceedings in Lagos on May 15, 2025.

The arbitral panel issued final award on July 24, 2026, directing Osun to pay $13,924,343.32 plus N157.5m as reimbursable arbitration fees, with 20 per cent annual interest after expiration of compliance period.

Gamji said compliance deadline lapsed on August 24, 2026 without payment, prompting court action.

Meanwhile, the order has triggered political brickbats.

An APC chieftain, Akin Adeyi, accused the Adeleke administration of lacking integrity and allowing the water project case to deteriorate, insinuating financial mishandling.

Swiftly responding, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Adeleke on Bureau of Social Services, Mr. Bello Sheriff, described the court order as a legacy matter predating Adeleke.

Sheriff said the contract was awarded during ex-Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, while ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s administration terminated it, leading to litigation. Both administrations were APC.

“You are not knowledgeable enough to understand that the case predated the Adeleke era. Aregbesola awarded the contract and Oyetola terminated same, thus leading to a court case,” Sheriff told Adeyi.

“The Adeleke administration is one given to fiscal responsibility. Therefore, there is no cause for alarm. We will fix the mess of the APC,” he added.

But the Osun APC insisted governance is continuum, asking Adeleke’s administration to carry its cross and stop apportiong blames.

Director of Media and Information, Osun APC, Kola Olabisi, told our correspondent: “Governance is a continuum. Any government in place at any particular point in time inherits assets and liability. Apportioning blame on the past administration(s) by the incumbent government is misplaced. In view of this, the Governor Ademola Adeleke-led administration should devise a means of carrying its cross.”

The opposition said Adeleke’s government lacked proactiveness to have watched the matter linger until accounts were frozen.

The current restriction is separate from the EFCC-related freeze of Osun accounts earlier in August. The latest case involves contracts for water infrastructure projects in Ilesa West, while the arbitration award was issued on July 24, 2026. The court has adjourned the arbitration debt matter till October 22.

Giving further updates, the Osun State Government said it has filed an application to the Federal High Court, Lagos for the setting aside of the ex-parte order made on September 9 of this year.

According to State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightrment, Kolapo Alimi, in a statement on Sunday, claimed the order was being procured by “deceit and concealment of material facts by Gamji Nigeria Company Limited,”

He also added that the arbitration process and outcome were married with “myriads of reasons, which include the fact that the said order does not accord with public policy.”

“The application for setting aside the order was filed before the Federal High Court on 2nd October, 2026,” Alimi disclosed.

The State Government submitted that just as the court order was a product of deceit and substantial non-disclosure of material facts to the Court, the arbitration award it sought to enforce was also fraught with several irregularities which had prompted the State Government’s legal team to approach the High Court of Lagos State to set aside the Award.

“In fact, it was reported that the purported Award which the ex-parte order of 9th September, 2026 referenced does not exist as there was no Arbitral Award made against the State Government in July 2024.

The only Arbitral Award against the State Government was in July, 2026 and the said Award is presently being challenged before the Lagos State High Court by the State Government’s legal team,” he said.

Narrating the historical genesis of the case, the statement noted: “The 2017 contract dispute started under the former Oyetola administration which denied a variation request by Gamji particularly as it relates to whether the Osun State Government was indebted to Gamji Nigeria Company to the tune of $15,982,638. 22 (Fifteen Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Two Thousand, Six Hundred and Thirty-Eight US Dollars and Twenty-Two Cents) or not.”

According to the State Government, the matter proceeded for arbitration which was deliberately mismanaged and handled to favour Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd., while denying the State Government fair hearing and full participation in the arbitration process as mandated by best practice in the arbitration process.

It added, “The irregularities that characterized the arbitration proceedings and the Final Arbitral Award are matters which have been submitted by the State Government to the High Court sitting in Lagos State.”

According to the Commissioner, the Counsel to the State Government had filed the suit to set aside the Arbitral Award at the Lagos State High Court since the 1st day of September, 2026 – prior to the time when Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd. surreptitiously approached the Federal High Court to deceitfully procure an ex-parte order.

“Alongside the originating motion used to commence the suit in Lagos State, a motion on notice was equally filed to suspend the execution of the Award until the suit is heard and determined. Both the originating motion and the motion on notice were duly served on Gamji and its Counsel, as such they were fully aware that the Award was being challenged by the State Government.

To the greatest chagrin of the Osun State Government and its legal team, Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd., despite being in receipt of the originating motion and motion on notice filed before the Lagos State High Court to suspend execution of the Award, furtively approached the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State to enforce the Award – the same Award that was being challenged by the State Government’s legal team before a Court of competent jurisdiction.

Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd., when it approached the Federal High Court, failed to disclose the fact that the validity of the Award was being challenged at the Lagos State High Court or that it was served with an application to suspend any action aimed at executing the said Award until the suit challenging the award was heard and determined.

The motion on notice to set aside the order of September 9 has been duly presented before the Court, and the deceptive ploy of Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd. has been relayed to the Federal High Court. Since the matter is still sub judice, the State Government refrains from making any prejudicial comments on the merit of the case.

The Osun State Government wishes to reassure the public that necessary legal action is ongoing to vacate the order and ensure the due right of the State is observed by judicial review of the Arbitration Award,” the government said.