Don’t Release LG Funds To Sacked APC Chairmen, Osun Gov’t Tells Finance Minister

The Osun State Government has warned the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, against asking the president to o.k. the merchandise of withheld section authorities funds to accounts opened by erstwhile All Progressives Congress (APC) assembly chairmen and councillors, whom the courts person already removed from office.

In a powerfully worded missive signed by Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, counsel for the state, and addressed to the Minister of Finance, the authorities authorities expressed interest implicit reports that the minister, contempt ongoing ineligible challenges astatine the Supreme Court, had written to President Bola Tinubu seeking support to wage the disputed funds into “illegal accounts” operated by the sacked officials.

The letter, titled: “Again: Notification of the Pendency of Suit No: SC/CV/773/2025: Between Attorney General of Osun State v. Attorney General of the Federation successful Respect of the Withheld Osun State Local Government Fund,” recalled that the Attorney General of Osun State had filed a lawsuit astatine the Supreme Court challenging the seizure of the funds and their attempted disbursement to amerciable accounts opened by APC politicians.

“It is inconceivable that you would inquire His Excellency, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to authorise the merchandise of funds, which are nether ineligible dispute, to these court-sacked chairmen and councillors,” the missive read.
“Instead of seeking an support to bash what is wrong, it is our counsel that you usage your bureau to decently and faithfully apprise Mr President of the existent presumption of the law.”

“Sir, if it is existent that you person so written to Mr. President to o.k. outgo of the Local Government funds to these court-sacked APC Chairmen and Councilors earlier the determination of the quality betwixt the parties crossed the disagreement by the Apex Court of the land, past specified an enactment is not lone a mockery of the medication of justness but besides a mockery of each the authorities of the nation, including that of Mr. President himself. It volition beryllium a grievous battle connected the regularisation of law. In the lack of the regularisation of law, sir, what takes implicit is what nary 1 desires. This is why, successful saner climes, the regularisation of instrumentality is jealously protected,” the missive said.

According to the letter, the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal judgments had unequivocally removed the APC chairmen and councillors from office, and the rulings stay unchallenged.

The authorities insisted that the withheld funds beryllium to the radical of the 30 section authorities councils successful Osun, noting that they are meant for “farmers, marketplace women, teachers, wellness workers, pensioners, and children,” not for “politicians who the courts person lawfully sacked.”

The authorities authorities urged the concern curate to spot that section governments successful Osun State person the aforesaid attraction arsenic their counterparts successful the different 35 states, who person continued to person their monthly allocations done their State-Local Government Joint Accounts.

The counsel stressed that proceeding with outgo into amerciable accounts would magnitude to “a grievous battle connected the regularisation of law” and urged the curate to retreat immoderate missive already written to the president for approval.

“It is connected grounds that, arsenic of today, the Federation has tens of billions of naira belonging to the 30 Local Government Councils of Osun State. These billions, we repeat, are for the well-being of the people… not wealth that politicians tin whimsically due to settee governmental associates and followers,” the missive added.

Osun’s ineligible squad appealed to the Finance Minister to “allow the tribunal to discharge its duties unhindered” portion the substance remains pending astatine the Supreme Court.