The Osun State House of Assembly on Sunday raised the alarm over alleged illegal disbursement of billions of naira from local government allocations, warning financial institutions against releasing council funds to unauthorised persons.
Addressing a press conference at the Assembly complex, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, alleged that funds belonging to the 30 local governments were being paid out to individuals he described as “court-sacked APC chairmen and councillors” under the alleged influence of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.
Egbedun listed the alleged payments as follows: N25 million each to 30 chairmen; N12 million each to 30 vice chairmen; N10 million each to 332 councillors; N130 million each to selected traditional rulers; and N13 billion paid as legal fees to lawyers representing the officials, said to be 15 per cent of deposited funds.
The Speaker claimed that, despite the alleged disbursements, local government workers had not received salaries in the past 12 months.
“Primary school teachers – zero; nurses and healthcare workers – zero; local government civil servants – zero; retirees — zero,” he said.
He further alleged that there were plans to release another N50 billion of local government funds “for political purposes disguised as project funds,” warning that the Assembly would not tolerate diversion of money meant for salaries, healthcare, education and community development.
Egbedun warned that any illegally handled funds would be recovered and those involved brought to justice. He added that any bank found to have released council funds to unauthorised persons risked legal and reputational consequences.
The Assembly maintained that, under Osun State laws regulating local government administration, only designated career officers appointed by the Local Government Service Commission, including directors of finance and directors of administration, are lawful signatories to council accounts.
“Politicians, whether chairmen, councillors, treasurers or appointees, are not authorised signatories to local government accounts,” Egbedun said.
“Any bank that releases local government funds on the instruction of unauthorised persons acts unlawfully and exposes itself to criminal liability.”
The Speaker also argued that no individual outside the constitutional framework had the authority to interfere in local government finances, insisting that political status or personal relationships conferred no legal powers over council administration.
He commended Governor Ademola Adeleke for what he described as efforts over the past year to ensure that local government workers continued to receive salaries despite the alleged withholding of allocations.
The Assembly reaffirmed its constitutional oversight powers over local government administration, citing Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers state legislatures to make laws regulating council administration and financial accountability.
It expressed concern that individuals whose elections were allegedly nullified by the courts and whose tenure expired in October 2025 were still occupying council secretariats and interfering with local government finances.
“The law is the law. No individual is above it, no bank is immune from it, and no political interest can override it,” the Speaker said.