The lingering dispute over Osun State’s local government allocations will come before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, as the apex court prepares to deliver a decisive ruling on the matter.
The case, which has sparked multiple legal battles and led to the freezing of council funds, centres on allegations of unlawful withdrawals and attempted diversions despite subsisting court orders.
Speaking after a court session on Friday, counsel to the Attorney-General of Osun State, Musibau Adetunmbi, SAN, said the state’s position was to preserve the funds until the Supreme Court delivers its judgment.
“The issue is about safeguarding the money in question pending the Supreme Court’s pronouncement. Those who made payments despite knowing the matter was already in court acted improperly. We must let the apex court speak, and everyone will be satisfied. But releasing the money prematurely is unacceptable,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, presided over by Justice Ladiran Akintola, extended its Interim Injunction against the United Bank for Africa (UBA). The order maintains a no-debit restriction on 30 accounts where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deposited withheld Osun council allocations. The judge explained that the extension was necessary to guarantee a fair hearing for all parties involved, the Osun State Attorney-General, the Osun Local Government Service Commission, and UBA Plc.
While UBA’s counsel was absent, lawyers representing the court-sacked APC local government chairmen appeared in court, led by Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN, who stood in for Kunle Adegoke, SAN. They filed fresh applications seeking joinder in the case and also challenged the court’s jurisdiction.
However, Adetunmbi opposed their participation, stressing that the former council chairmen lacked legal standing since their application for joinder had not yet been ruled upon. “They remain strangers to this case,” he argued.
Gbadamosi, on the other hand, insisted his clients were directly affected by the injunction, noting that the court had no authority to extend an order while its jurisdiction was still under challenge.
In a fresh affidavit, Mrs. Aluko Rachael Abidemi, Head of Local Government Administration in Boluwaduro LGA, accused certain individuals of attempting to siphon funds in violation of existing court orders. She revealed that two men, claiming to be chairman and treasurer, instructed UBA to deduct 15 percent of allocations and remit to a private law firm, even though one of them was not a staff member or treasurer of the council.
Adetunmbi further disclosed that a directive had been issued to pay 15 percent of withheld funds from March to September, running into billions of naira as legal fees to a single individual. He argued that without the preservation order, the money would have been depleted.
On the ex-chairmen’s joinder bid, he concluded: “We will oppose the joinder because this matter does not concern them.”
The Osun State government has consistently accused the Federal Government of bias and illegality in the handling of local government allocations. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday is expected to be a landmark decision in resolving the contentious issue.
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