Osun APC Accuses Adeleke of Misleading Public Over LG Allocations.

 

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of allegedly misleading the public over the payment of federal government allocations to local government councils in the state.

The opposition party, reacting to a statewide broadcast by the governor, described Adeleke’s claims as false and contradictory, insisting that the Federal Government and its agencies were not responsible for any alleged withholding of local government funds.

Governor Adeleke, in his broadcast titled “The Illegal Occupation of Local Government Secretariats and the Defence of Democratic Order in Osun State,” had accused the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, of playing roles in what he described as the non-release of statutory allocations to local councils since February 2025.

However, the APC, in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Information, Mogaji Kola Olabisi, said the broadcast was a deliberate attempt to “confuse and misinform” the public.

According to the party, the reinstated APC local government chairmen and councillors were lawfully occupying council secretariats, contrary to the governor’s assertion of illegality.

The APC recalled that the Court of Appeal, sitting in Akure, on February 10, 2025, reinstated the sacked APC council chairmen and councillors, adding that there was no subsisting appeal against the judgment, making it binding.

The party also faulted Adeleke for failing to acknowledge that he dissolved the elected local government officials shortly after assuming office, without allowing the courts to fully determine the matter.

Reacting to claims that the APC chairmen were seeking tenure elongation, the party said the matter before the Federal High Court in Osogbo bordered on the interpretation of the statutory three-year tenure of the councils and the legality of conducting fresh elections during the subsistence of that tenure.

The APC further alleged that the state government was responsible for delays in the release of local government allocations, claiming that the Adeleke administration and its allies had instituted multiple court cases to prevent commercial banks from releasing funds to the reinstated council officials.

“It is misleading for the governor to accuse the Federal Government or its agencies of withholding allocations when his administration is engaged in several litigations aimed at frustrating payment to the local governments,” the statement said.

The party argued that following the Supreme Court judgment granting full financial autonomy to local governments, the governor lacked the legal standing to interfere in local council administration.

It also accused Adeleke of unfairly blaming the immediate past governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, for the alleged shortcomings of his administration, describing Oyetola’s tenure as one marked by “verifiable achievements.”

The APC further recalled the killing of a reinstated APC chairman, Hon. Remi Abass of Irewole Local Government Area, alleging that the incident followed an inciting address by the governor, a claim the party said Adeleke failed to mention in his broadcast.

The party expressed surprise that Adeleke, who it said had often criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was now appealing to him to intervene in matters already settled by the Supreme Court.

It also dismissed allegations against the Nigeria Police Force, insisting that there was no evidence to support claims of collusion with the APC in the occupation of council secretariats.

The APC appealed to the public to urge Governor Adeleke to withdraw what it described as “frivolous court cases” hindering the release of local government funds, saying such a move would ease hardship at the grassroots and allow council administrations function effectively.