Abiodun accused the Adeleke administration of frustrating grassroots governance and filing more than 14 lawsuits—up to the Supreme Court—in a bid to cripple local government operations in the state.
The aggrieved local government chairmen in Osun State have warned the Osun State House of Assembly to stay out of council affairs, insisting that they are constitutionally empowered to manage their councils without interference.
The chairmen, operating under the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), accused the Speaker of the House, Wale Egbedun, and the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke of deliberately misrepresenting facts and attempting to undermine local government autonomy guaranteed by the Supreme Court.
Addressing a press conference on Monday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) State Secretariat in Osogbo, the Osun ALGON Chairman, Samuel Idowu Abiodun, said the House of Assembly had no authority to meddle in issues already settled by the Supreme Court, particularly the July 2024 judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments.
“No amount of ranting, hues or cries from the Assembly can stop the full implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on local government financial autonomy,” Abiodun said.
He dismissed allegations by the Assembly that council funds were diverted, describing them as “spurious and unfounded,” and maintained that all actions taken by the councils were lawful.
Abiodun accused the Adeleke administration of frustrating grassroots governance and filing more than 14 lawsuits—up to the Supreme Court—in a bid to cripple local government operations in the state.
According to him, the crisis escalated after the state government allegedly failed in its attempt to “superimpose PDP members illegally selected under the guise of the February 22, 2025 local government elections,” while also refusing to accept the implications of Supreme Court rulings affirming council autonomy.
“Contrary to the invented claims by the Speaker, no diversion of local government funds has occurred since our chairmen and councillors assumed office in February 2025,” he said, adding that diversion only occurred “at the state government level since 2022.”
The ALGON chairman further accused the state government of instigating local government workers to abandon their duties between February 16, 2025, and January 2026, an action he said paralysed governance at the grassroots for nearly a year.
He likened the situation to what he described as the Adeleke administration’s earlier confrontation with the state judiciary, which reportedly shut down judicial activities for over seven months.
Abiodun explained that, following the prolonged workers’ strike, councils lawfully opened bank accounts to prevent the collapse of local government administration in the state.
“All legal procedures were followed, and the process took over seven months, with the cooperation of the United Bank for Africa, to ensure there was no breach of the law,” he said.
He also criticised the House of Assembly for hurriedly passing a law in December 2025, which he claimed was aimed at cushioning the impact of legal defeats suffered by the state government at the Supreme Court over council allocations.
According to him, the Assembly’s actions amounted to “subtle attacks on the Presidency and the Supreme Court” for enforcing local government financial autonomy.
Abiodun accused Speaker Egbedun of embarrassing the state through what he described as reckless allegations, including claims against the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and former Osun governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
“For the umpteenth time, there is no illegality at the local government level. All allegations by the Speaker are cheap propaganda aimed at unlawful control of council finances,” Abiodun said.
The council chairmen reiterated their resolve to resist any attempt by the state government or the Assembly to undermine constitutionally backed local government autonomy in Osun State.