Politics
EFCC’s credibility challenged over Osun State’s $20m petition against Oyetola
… as the fight for the contract of Local Govt assumes new dimensions
The crisis over who controls the 30 local government councils in Osun State is still going on and has also taken a new dimension. What started as a political battle between the two leading political parties of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in the State about three weeks ago, has now snow-balled into a situation, where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been called upon to investigate corruption allegations against former governor, and minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola.
He was accused of misappropriating a $20 million fund. But political observers see the allegation as part of the fight for the control of the local governments, which has been a subject of political and legal brickbats.
The Local government issues, which began, as a judicial matter, later became political. It has now turned criminal, with the involvement and attention of the Economic Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC), which caught the APC and those not in the inner circle of Gov. Ademola Adeleke’s government unawares.
Although, the two political parties have been at loggerheads since Gov. Adeleke of the PDP in a landslide victory shamed the APC and prevented its candidate to run a second term in the 2022 governorship election, no one envisaged that it would take this turn.
It was assumed that local government matter would be the usual political ding-dong, and character assassination synonymous with the politicians, till the next governorship election coming up in 2026, which is just a year, but events in Osun State have gone beyond all that, as Gov. Adeleke has been forced to do what he has refused and determined not to do by dragging Oyetola, the immediate past governor, President Tinubu’s nephew, and minister of Marine and Blue Economy, to the EFCC for alleged financial misappropriation. Yes
At the inception of the administration of Gov. Adeleke in 2022, some discrepancies were discovered over the financial process of the State and it was said that for the mere fact that Ademola was a gentleman and who did not believe in witch-hunting style to run people down, despite the pressure from his associates to beam a proper search light into the administration of Oyetola after he had rolled out some executive orders to reverse some of his last minutes action found to be traps for Adeleke’s take off, he refused to do so.
But now, that he has been pushed to the wall, it was said that he had no option but to turn back and fight since the camp of Oyetola has found the right moment using the Local government issue, as their tool to show the PDP government of Adeleke that they have staged a come back, with the Appeal court judgment, which was interpreted to mean that the council chairmen and councillors elected with “Yes” or “No,” vote have been reinstated. by the higher court.
Earlier, a Federal High court in Osogbo had ruled to nullified the election, which brought the Oyetola’s council men into power and gave the PDP government the legal muscles to evict them from office.
When the Appeal Court judgment came, the APC chairmen saw it as an opportunity to come back and to prevent the election into the councils, organized by the PDP government.
The Appeal Court judgment created hullabaloo and pandemonium, as the APC wanted to enforce the order and this led to deaths in some of the Local governments in the state.
But right now, the tension has died down and both parties have resolved to handle the matter, introducing the crime aspect, by dialogue and consultations.
The Adeleke’s government had petitioned the EFCC calling it to investigate the activities of Oyetola’s government and how the intervention fund of $20 million was spent and questioned the rationale behind Oyetola’s chairmanship of the committee that disbursed the fund, for the projects they were meant for.
It was also alleged that the former governor had unfettered access to the fund without being questioned and that he allegedly awarded contracts from the fund to his cronies and associates, which negated the core objectives of the project.
Since the EFCC has been asked to probe Oyetola, both APC and the PDP have been at each other’s throats and different insinuations have been brought into the issue.
While the APC believed that it was political witch-hunt and to dent the image of Oyetola as a person and the APC as a political party, the PDP argued that the intention of its government was not a personal issue but to call whoever leader to accountability and to check those in position of authorities in future from abusing the power invested on them by the generality of “our people”
The government of Adeleke, while defending its action through the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, argued that instead of addressing the revelations of corruption, misappropriation, and abuse of office, the APC has chosen to resort to baseless propaganda, falsehoods, and diversionary tactics. He pointed out that the reckless approach of the APC was an indication that the party and its leaders have no reasonable defense against the allegations.
While highlighting how the Oyetola led government allegedly went on reckless spending of the counterpart fund and to set the record straight, the PDP stated, “the EFCC petition is not a product of political witch-hunt but the culmination of a painstaking, evidence-based process that began in early 2023. A Contract Review Committee was constituted to examine the financial dealings of the previous administration, and its findings uncovered a shocking scale of malfeasance, violations of due process, and brazen acts of corruption under the leadership of former governor Gboyega Oyetola”.
Oluomo Alimi went on “in response, a White Paper Committee was established, which further reviewed and validated the findings, ultimately recommending the prosecution of implicated officials. These recommendations were subsequently approved by the State Executive Council in 2024. Given the sheer magnitude of financial recklessness uncovered, the administration had a duty to the people of Osun State to ensure accountability rather than sweep the report under the carpet.”
“Consequently, a White Paper Implementation Committee was inaugurated in late 2024, and after rigorous scrutiny of the documented infractions, a legal team was engaged to compile a comprehensive petition, which was submitted to the EFCC on Friday, March 7, 2025.”
According to Alimi , “the petition presents indisputable material evidence of
• Financial misconduct
• Money laundering
• Brazen violations of the Public Procurement Act, 2007”
He said that one of the most damning discoveries was the mismanagement of funds meant for the renovation of 320 primary healthcare centers across Osun State. “Rather than follow due process, the former governor unilaterally awarded contracts without any competitive bidding—a clear violation of procurement laws.”
“Shockingly, these contracts were handed to close allies, political associates, and family members of top officials, many of whom had no prior experience in construction. The implicated entities include
• Poshpreneurs Nig – Allegedly owned by the children of the former Head of Service, Olowogboyega Oyebade.
• Dotfam Multiventures Ltd. – Linked to the siblings of the former APC State Chairman.
• The Ice Firms Nig. Ltd. – Allegedly owned by former Commissioner for Local Government, Adebayo Adeleke.
• Afamoks Web International – Linked to former Amotekun Field Commander, Amitolu Shittu.”
It was also alleged that despite receiving full payments, “these firms delivered substandard renovations, further proving the criminal intent behind the fraudulent scheme.
“Additionally, the investigation uncovered a staggering N1.5 billion laundered through the Osun State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) between January and October 2022. Financial records obtained from Zenith Bank reveal that funds were funneled into a private account linked to one Akeem Ibitoye, a local government employee and Director of Finance at Ejigbo Local Government. Subsequent cash withdrawals ranging from ₦10 million, ₦30 million and ₦100 million were carried out daily with no legitimate records of official use.”
Alimi pointed out that “a responsible government does not turn a blind eye to this level of financial recklessness and fraud. Unlike the APC, which thrives on impunity, Gov. Adeleke’s administration is committed to accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.”
“Let it be clear: the Osun State Government will not be intimidated or blackmailed into silence. The former officials implicated in this petition should prepare to answer for their actions before the appropriate authorities instead of issuing desperate and misleading press statements.
We trust the EFCC to conduct a thorough investigation and bring all culpable individuals to justice. No amount of noise from the APC can shield the guilty from the consequences of their actions.”
Defending the administration of the present Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC, Mogaji Kola Olabisi pointed out that the Osun State chapter of the party disagreed with the Gov. Adeleke PDP led government, on the alleged accusation of money laundering, against the immediate past government of Oyetola.
Olabisi saw the PDP allegation as a politically motivated one, while dismissing the accusation of a $20 million fraud against former Governor Oyetola.
Mogaji Olabisi, was of the veiw that the accusation was a direct attack to dent the good image of Oyetola and his track record of good governance in Osun State.
He argued that Adeleke made the allegation to cover up his own administration’s struggles, especially “his inability to gain control over the state’s local government councils.”
He, however, compared Oyetola’s transparency record to the current administration’s, noting that the former governor made details of over 100 contracts public, while Adeleke’s government had only published a few.
Also there is the accusation that the government of Adeleke has been trying to change the signatories of the councils accounts and calling for the recognition of the newly elected council chairmen and councillors, in an election still being viewed, as very controversial because the APC has refused to accept that the tenure of its elected council men, had expired and still claiming that they have up till November 2025 to end their tenure, which was terminated in 2023 by the Adeleke’s government based on what they described as the kangaroo judgment of a federal High Court.
The APC claimed that the letters of recognition to the Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, the Accountant General of the Federation Samsudeen Babatunde Ogunjimi and the Governor of the Central Bank, Yemi Cardoso was illegal.
This development according to political observers, has further deepened the political and legal battle over the control of local governments in Osun State.
Meanwhile, the move taken by Governor Adeleke to reduce tension through consultations with elders and stakeholders in Osun politics, and traditional rulers.
One of the leaders already met is the former governor of the state, Chief Bisi Akande, where he emphasized his commitments to uphold the rule of law and called on all those concerned to avoid actions that could further disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the state.
He, however, pledged to collaborate with the APC federal government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The former APC chairman, Chief Akande saw Adeleke’s new tactics of embracing dialogue as a right step in the right direction, which could bring peace in Osun State.
But his rivals in APC saw his move as a cheap attempt to gain undue recognition and support instead of facing the reality on ground.
Meanwhile, a legal luminary Pelumi Olajengbe has said that the whole world is watching how the EFCC would handle Oyetola’s matter concerning the petition before it.
He called on the commission to ensure that justice is carried out without any intervention or interference from any quarters.
