The Omoluabi Progressives, a faction loyal to former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has accused the Federal Government of unlawfully releasing local government allocations in Osun State to what it described as “illegal” All Progressives Congress (APC) council chairmen.In a statement issued on Monday, the group cautioned the chairmen elected during the October 15, 2022, poll conducted under former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration against spending the six months’ allocation recently released to them.
Chairman of the group, Mr. Isha Adesiji, said the funds were paid into accounts belonging to persons not recognised by law, describing the move as “a gross violation of financial regulations” and “an attempt to convert Osun’s public resources into an APC war chest.”
“Government allocations cannot be paid directly or indirectly into any individual’s account. Doing so amounts to an egregious violation of financial procedures which the ICPC should urgently investigate,” Adesiji stated during a press briefing in Osogbo.
“The so-called YES OR NO illegal chairmen must not touch the money. The Federal Government must stop treating Osun people’s resources as the APC’s political war fund,” he added.
Adesiji alleged that instead of upholding due process, the Federal Government had “starved duly elected local government executives” loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, while empowering a “disbanded” group reinstated by what he described as a “controversial appellate judgment.”
“This unconscionable act amounts to a declaration of war against the Nigerian Constitution and against the people of Osun State. It sets a dangerous precedent where the Federal Government disregards valid court judgments to entrench its party’s rejected cronies in power,” he said.
The group called on civil society organisations, labour unions, and professional bodies to resist what it termed “creeping authoritarianism,” stressing that the issue transcends party politics and touches the core of constitutional governance.
However, the Osun State chapter of the APC dismissed the allegations as “belated and attention-seeking.”
In a counterstatement, the APC’s spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, accused the Aregbesola-backed faction of aligning with the PDP and distorting the February 10, 2025, Court of Appeal judgment that reinstated the APC’s chairmen and councillors.
“It would be pertinent for discerning minds to ask if those driving the affairs of Omoluabi Progressives have just woken up from their slumber,” Olabisi said.
“Their tirade is not only stale but exposes their bias and desperation to remain relevant,” he added.
Olabisi also challenged the group’s authority to interpret court rulings, advising it to focus on rebuilding the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where Aregbesola serves as National Secretary, rather than “dabbling in issues that do not concern it.”
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