N63bn Osun LG Funds Released; PDP Demands Investigation

The Disbursement of Withheld Allocations to Osun State Councils

An estimated N63 billion from the six months’ withheld allocations from the Federation Account may have been disbursed to the ‘sacked’ All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen of the 30 local government areas of Osun State, according to records from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF). These records, obtained by Daily Trust from the OAGF’s website, show that a total sum of N46.98 billion was disbursed to the councils covering March to June 2025. The funds were released together with July and August allocations whose details have not been published on the website.

The councils might have received at least N16 billion for July and August, based on previous allocations they got during the same period in the post-subsidy era. For example, in July and August 2023, the local governments received N7.5 billion respectively. They got N9.8 billion for July 2024 and N9.7 billion for August 2024.

Breakdown of Funds Received by Each Council

Based on the records from the OAGF, cumulative funds received by each council between March and June 2025 were as follows:

• Atakumosa East LG: N1.42 billion
• Atakumosa West: N1.38 billion
• Ayedade: N1.7 billion
• Aiyedire: N1.47 billion
• Boluwaduro: N1.48 billion
• Boripe: N1.64 billion
• Ede North: N1.41bn
• Ede South: N1.42bn
• Egbedore: N1.41bn
• Ejigbo: N1.61 billion
• Ife Central: N1.28 billion
• Ife East: N1.88 billion
• Ife North: N1.76 billion
• Ife South: N1.61 billion
• Ifedayo: N1.26 billion
• Ifelodun: N1.54 billion
• Ila: N1.34 billion

Others included:

• Ilesha East: N1.50 billion
• Ilesha West: N154 billion
• Irepodun: N1.56 billion
• Irewole: N1.67 billion
• Isokan: N152 billion
• Iwo: N1.85 billion
• Obokun: N1.56 billion
• Odo-Otin: N1.82 billion
• Ola-Oluwa: N1.41 billion
• Olorunda: N1.65 billion
• Oriade: N1.69 billion
• Orolu: N1.51 billion
• Osogbo: N1.67 billion

Accusations and Denials

The state chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees had accused the federal government of disbursing the withheld six months’ allocation from March 2025 to August 2025 into accounts opened by the APC-led chairmen and councilors, despite pending court cases on the issue. However, the Osun APC, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, said the funds were disbursed into the accounts of the local government councils, not private accounts.

Speaking to Daily Trust on Tuesday about the insinuations that the tenure of APC council chairmen would have ended this month even if they had not been sacked, the spokesperson for the APC in Osun State, Kola Olabisi, said: “It is not a problem because when we get to the river, we will devise a means of crossing the bridge. It is not about extension; it is about determination.”

Legal Battles and Court Cases

Early in September, ‘the reinstated’ council executives filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, against the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, the Osun State Governor, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, and the State House of Assembly, seeking an extension of their tenure beyond its scheduled expiration in October 2025 to February 19, 2028.

They argued that under the Constitution and the Osun State laws, their tenure should commence only from the date they were inaugurated as elected council members in February 2025; not from October 2022 when they were first elected but denied office.

Bank Restrictions and Alleged Payments

In a statement yesterday, the state chairman of the PDP, Sunday Bisi, asked the Inspector-General of Police to probe an alleged attempt by the ex-APC council chairmen in the state to pay out almost N12.75 billion, out of the six months allocations paid into the local governments’ UBA accounts, to a senior lawyer. Bisi alleged that the chairmen had directed the bank to pay the lawyer the amount as the legal fees incurred on the local government litigations.

Reacting, the spokesman for the APC in the state, Olabisi, told Daily Trust on the telephone yesterday that the allegation was unfounded. “It remains in the realm of conjecture. So, it is nothing to be relied upon. It is baseless and unfounded and it should be discountenanced. There is no element of truth in it. It is just a way of weaving lies together to portray our party in a bad light,” he said.

Background to the LG Leadership Crisis

The Federal High Court in Osogbo had, on November 25, 2022, nullified the October 15, 2022 local government election conducted after the then Governor Adegboyega Oyetola had lost his re-election bid. The election produced APC chairmen and councillors. The Court of Appeal in Akure later overturned the Federal High Court’s ruling which sacked the executives.

The state government had argued that the Appeal Court’s judgment did not amount to the APC council chairmen’s reinstatement. The government conducted a fresh local election on February 22, 2025 in which only PDP candidates contested and were declared winners. These PDP officials were subsequently sworn in but instructed by the governor not to assume physical control of the council secretariats to avoid conflict.

Relying on the appellate court’s verdict, the APC chairmen and councillors returned to their council secretariats in February 24. The situation led to a clash that claimed the life of an APC chieftain and former chairman of Irewole Local Government Area of the state, Remi Abbas, and four others. Governor Ademola Adeleke shut down all local government council secretariats in the state to prevent further breakdown of law and order.