.blockade crippling grassroots governance, inflicting hardship on workers, residents, he warns
By Our Reporter
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has demanded the immediate release of over N130 billion in statutory allocations allegedly withheld from the state’s local governments, warning that the continued blockade was crippling grassroots governance and inflicting hardship on workers and residents.
It would be recalled that local governments across Osun State have been left without access to statutory funds amid an ongoing dispute over control of council secretariats, prompting calls for urgent Federal intervention.
Governor Adeleke made the demand in a statewide broadcast on Monday, describing the continued occupation of council offices as unlawful and damaging to grassroots administration.
The governor said the situation followed court rulings which, according to him, nullified the tenure of certain All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen and councillors previously elected into office.
Adeleke noted that judgments delivered by the Federal High Court in Osogbo in November 2022, and upheld by the Court of Appeal in February and June 2025, invalidated the elections that brought the affected officials into office, insisting that their continued presence in council secretariats had no legal backing.
"These individuals were removed by the courts, not by my administration. Their continued presence in council secretariats had no legal backing, he insisted.
Governor adeleke explained that fresh local government elections were conducted in line with existing court orders, resulting in the inauguration of new chairmen and councillors on February 23, 2025, adding: "The current occupants of the secretariats were acting without lawful authority and had prevented duly elected officials and workers from carrying out their duties."
Adeleke alleged that attempts by council staff to resume work had been met with intimidation, claiming that armed police officers and political thugs were deployed to block access to offices, noting that key issue to the dispute was the non-release of allocations to the councils, which he put at more than N130 billion since February 2025.
“These funds belong to the people at the grassroots and are meant for essential services," he said.
Adeleke listed beneficiaries of the allocations to include primary school teachers, health workers in 332 primary health centres, council employees, traditional councils and retirees.
He disclosed that the state government had been sourcing alternative funds to pay salaries for nearly a year, describing such measure as increasingly difficult to sustain.
"Governance is about responsibility and compassion, but this burden cannot be carried indefinitely," the governor said.
Governor Adeleke called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure the immediate release of the withheld allocations, saying that the situation posed a test between constitutional order and impunity as, according to him, there is no provision in the 1999 Constitution for tenure elongation.
"There is no provision in our Constitution for tenure elongation. The situation posed a test between constitutional order and impunity," he said.
The governor, however, urged residents of Osun State to remain peaceful and law-abiding, assuring them that his administration would continue to uphold the 1999 Constitution and protect their welfare.
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