It is unfortunate that for 19 months now, the federal government has withheld statutory allocations of local government councils in Osun State against the ruling of the Supreme Court.
According to data from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), the allocations have grown to the tune of N201.962 billion. The review covered a 15-month period spanning March 2025 to May 2026.
The prolonged withholding of the allocations has remained the subject of legal and political disputes between the federal government and the state government following the February 2025 local government elections in the state.
Following the elections, which were challenged by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the federal government withheld the statutory allocations meant for the 30 councils.
The legality of the action later came under judicial scrutiny, with the Supreme Court holding that the withholding of the funds was unconstitutional.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, the apex court declared that the seizure of the allocations amounted to “grave breach of the 1999 Constitution.”
Justice Idris further held that “the hand of the federal government was soiled” by its decision to withhold the allocations and directed that the funds should be “directly channelled to local accounts.”
Though the court faulted the state government for initiating the suit on behalf of the affected local governments and consequently dismissed the suit, it still held that the federal government was wrong to withhold the local government funds.
Despite this, the federal government has ignored the court’s directive.
Many are shocked that this is happening under President Bola Tinubu who as Governor of Lagos State under President Olusegun Obasanjo challenged the withholding of LGA allocations in Lagos and won.
In the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in the dispute, it said the President Obasanjo was wrong to order the seizure of the Lagos LG funds and ordered that the allocations be released, a decision that was complied with.
The action of the federal government in Osun has since worsened poverty and hunger in the state.
Governor Ademola Adeleke has said the funds were essential for paying the salaries of primary school teachers, nurses, other health workers across the state’s 332 primary healthcare centres, local government employees, members of traditional councils, and retirees.