Osun APC denies claims Tinubu is withholding local govt funds, blames Governor Adeleke for strike and ₦84bn debt to councils

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has refuted allegations by the state government that President Bola Tinubu is withholding allocations meant for local government councils.

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The rebuttal follows a call by the Osun State government urging the Nigerian government to release the funds in line with a recent Court of Appeal judgment on local government leadership.

Commissioner for Information, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, had claimed there was no legal or political basis for the delay and appealed for traditional rulers to intervene.

However, in a statement by its Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, the APC described Alimi’s remarks as “misinformation” designed to mislead the public.

The party maintained that no federal agency is holding back the funds, explaining that the Central Bank of Nigeria is processing payments directly to council chairmen and councillors reinstated by the Court of Appeal’s 10 February 2025 ruling.

The APC accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of orchestrating the six-month strike by the state’s chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and owing councils ₦84 billion allegedly withdrawn in violation of a July 2024 Supreme Court ruling on local government financial autonomy.

It further criticised Adeleke for being absent from the state “for four weeks” to plan a family wedding, sacking 1,500 teachers, hundreds of health workers, and 20,000 O’YES Corps members without replacements, and spending ₦3.1 billion on travels in the first half of the year.

The statement also alleged that Adeleke’s administration initially filed a case at the Supreme Court to block payments to local government councils but later withdrew it.

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The APC concluded by accusing the governor of disrespecting court rulings and urged Osun residents to hold him accountable for the state’s governance challenges.