APC accuses Adeleke of distorting LG allocation facts

‎The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is accusing Ademola Adeleke, the state governor, of deliberately distorting facts over the status of local governments and the release of statutory allocations to councils in the state.

‎Speaking at a press conference held at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, the state’s APC Chairman, said the governor’s recent statewide broadcast on local government administration was built on what he described as misrepresentation, selective narration of facts and an attempt to deflect responsibility.

Lawal, whose address was read by Kola Olabisi, the party’s spokesman dismissed the governor’s claim that reinstated APC chairmen and councillors were illegally occupying local government secretariats, insisting that their return followed subsisting judicial pronouncements. He cited the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on February 10, 2025, which nullified the basis for their earlier removal, stressing that the ruling remains valid, binding and unappealed.

‎According to the APC, the crisis around local government administration began when Adeleke, upon assuming office, removed elected APC council officials and replaced them with caretaker arrangements without allowing the judicial process to run its course.

‎Lawal also rejected allegations that the reinstated council officials were seeking tenure elongation, explaining that the matter before the Federal High Court in Osogbo relates to the interpretation of their constitutionally guaranteed three-year tenure and the legality of conducting fresh elections while that tenure subsists.

‎On local government allocations, he described as misleading the governor’s claim that the Federal Government was withholding funds, emphasising the real obstacles were multiple court cases instituted by the state government and its allies, including suits against commercial banks, aimed at preventing the release of allocations to the reinstated councils.

‎He noted that the Supreme Court has since clarified the matter by affirming the autonomy of local governments, declaring them distinct legal entities with the capacity to sue and be sued, and holding that state governments lack the locus standi to litigate on their behalf over council funds.

‎The APC chairman said it was unconstitutional for the governor to continue acting as though local governments were extensions of the state executive, despite the apex court’s clear position, and urged him to allow elected councils to operate independently and access funds lawfully due to them.

‎The party also criticised what it described as repeated attempts to blame former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, for the challenges facing the state, insisting that Oyetola’s record in office remains verifiable.

‎Lawal urged Adeleke to withdraw what it termed frivolous and obstructive litigations designed to frustrate the release of local government allocations, noting that the funds are already domiciled in commercial banks in line with Supreme Court directives.