• State drags AGF Fagbemi to the Supreme Court
The crisis on the control of the local government councils in the State of OSun between the Democratic Party of the Peoples (PDP) and the Congress of all progressive (APC) has made the state government drag the Federal Government to the Supreme Court for allegedly taking advantage of the monthly assignments that accumulate the councils.
According to the reports, the assignments of the local government of the State of OSun for the months of February, March and April 2025 are retained, while May's has not yet been determined.
The lawsuit dated April 23, 2025 marked SC/CV/379/2025 presented by Musibau Adetunbi, San, lawyer of the Attorney General of the State of Osun (plaintiff), has the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as the only accused.
The state government approached the Supreme Court for an order that ordered the Federal Government to release the funds seized and so that more orders that prevent them from retaining, suspending and suspending the allocations of funds to the local government councils in the State.
In an originated summons presented on April 24, 2025, the state government asks the Supreme Court to determine the following questions:
Either on an adequate construction of the provisions of Section 162 (3), (5), (6) and (8) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (amended) through the decisions of this honorable court in the Honorable Court in Ag Lagos Federation Vag (Part 1966) 18 NWLR (Part 904) 1 and AG Federation State (2024) 17 NWLR (Part 1966) 1; The defendant can retain, confiscate and/or suspend the payment of monthly assignments, income and other funds due to the constituent councils of the local government of the demanding state without any justification, despite the fact that the demanding State has instead, in the material of all time, the local government council chosen democratically?
After an adequate construction of Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (amended), which guarantees the existence and subsistence of the local government councils democratically elected in all states of the Federation, including the state of the plaintiff, if the law of the defendant of Harting, suspends and/or/or the statues of the statistics admitted to the Councils of Consulting Government Of the plantation of the planterified, intimate, indigating the feeds of the panthening of the panthenifice. It possesses a threat to the existence, governance and/or subsistence of the local government councils democratically elected in the demanding state and, by extension, the State in general, and therefore, infringing the clear provisions of the Constitution?
WHETHER THE DEFENDANT, WITHOUT ANY LAWFUL JUSTIFICATION AND/OR ANY VALID OR SUBSISTING JUDGMENT/ORDER OF COURT WHATSOEVER, The Local Constituent Government Council of the Plaintiff State, notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff state have in place democratically elected local Government Council in the State at all-time material to this suit?
The State Government is praying to the Apex court to make the following statements:
A statement that the defendant has no right to retain, suspend and/or confiscate the monthly assignments, the income and/or other funds that are granted the credit of the Local Constituent Government Councils of the state of the plaintiff without any justification, particularly in view of the fact that the state of the plaintiff has chosen a plaintiff in the local government councils in place in the material of all time for this claim.
A declaration that the defendant's acts that retain the monthly assignments and income due to the local government councils of the state of the plaintiff for the months of March 2025, without any justification, despite the fact that the plaintiff has instead of the advice of the local government chosen in the material of all time to this suit, as not contagious, illegal, ultra ultra ultra. Powers of the Powers of the Powers of the Powers of the Powers of the Powers of the Sports.
A statement that seizure, suspension, withholding and/or the refusal to pay assignments and income due to the demanding state by the defendant is a threat to the existence and subsistence of the democratically elected local government councils that are in their place in the demanding state in the material of all time to this lawsuit.
A statement that, to the extent that the defendant has not yet begun the implementation of the sentence of this honorable court in the claim: SC/CV/343/2024 between the Ag AG ABIA STATE & ORS FEDERATION. When establishing the necessary logistics to guarantee the direct payment of the allocations and income due to each local government council of the States, the defendant cannot be indicated by the defendant due to lack of payment of his allocation of the local government, while other states in the Federation continue to receive the payment of the allocation of the local government for and in the name of their local government councils.
An order that orders the defendant to immediately release the plaintiff, the monthly assignments and income due to their constituent local government councils for the months of March 2025 who have been illegally and unjustifiably retained by the defendant in their state accounts of the Joint Local Government.
An order that orders the defendant to continue paying the allocation, income and other funds due to the local government councils of the state of the plaintiff through the state of the plaintiff, the accounts of the joint local government opened for that purpose pending the necessary logistics.
In an affidavit of extreme urgency deposed by the Finance Commissioner, Ogungbile Dolusola, the state government, through the State Attorney General, said that the claim was filed in the context of the unjustifiable and illegal account of retention and the seizure of the funds, the assignments and income due to the local councils of the Federation Federation councils.
The plaintiff told the Court Apex that “the continuous seizure of this Fund by the Federation would paralyze the education and health sectors of the plaintiff's state, if this honorable court was not urgently, this honorable court, hence the plaintiff has contemporarily submitted a request for the measures of interlocutory and interlocutory injuries together with the immonators of origin in this lawsuit.”
The finance commissioner said in the affidavit of emergency, swore on April 24, 2025 that the various local government councils in the plaintiff need assignments and income to function.
He said: “I know that if the defendant is not urgently restricted to retain, suspend and take advantage of this fund, local government councils could not function and fulfill their constitutional obligations.
“I also know as a fact that the continuous seizure of this fund by the accused would paralyze the governance and subsistence of the local government councils in the State of Osun and, by extension, would paralyze the governance of the State itself.”
He said: “The defendant, having retained the allocation and income of the local government councils of the State of OSun of March 2025, has caused difficulties to the people of the State, and if the accused is not urgently restricted, the monthly allocation of April 2025 would also be withdrawn, suspend and turn off and this will cause more and severe difficulties in the people of the state.”
The declarant said: “He will satisfy the interest of justice and equity if the motion ex part for the provisional court order is urgently heard and determined by the Apex court to mitigate the difficulties that the people of the State of Osun already face, due to the retention, seizure and suspension of the allocation and income of the local government councilors.
“Deposed to this affidavit of good faith, believing conscientiously that it is true, correct and in accordance with the law of oaths.”
A date for the audience of the case has not been set.
It will be remembered that the APC had asked in February to the federal government to retain allocations to the local government councils in the State, alleging the illegal constitution of the Board leaders by the administration of Governor Adelade Adeleke.
According to the APC, Governor Adeke made an “alleged” election of the local government on February 22, 2025, “without taking into account a valid and subsisting sentence of the Court of Appeals.”
The party spokesman Felix Morka said: “According to the rule of law, it is our expectation that the federal government will cause local governments to be available only for local government officials and judicially certified in the state of Osun.”
However, the state government and the PDP responded by the APC argument, pointing out in a case that the APC lost in the same Federal Superior Court, the appeal in which it was dismissed by the Court of Appeals on January 13, 2025 due to lack of diligent prosecution.
The Court of Appeals recently listened to a request filed by the Congress of all progressives (APC) praying to the Court to relieve the appeal against the judgment of the Federal Superior Court that dismissed its presidents and councilors on November 30, 2022.
The decision of the application and on a preliminary objection filed by the respondents, the party of the Peoples of Action and Ossiec, has been postponed until the court will be announced to a date.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) appealed to the Federal Government not to retain allocations to local state governments on the controversy surrounding the elections of the Council.
Read also: The court asks FG to hold the Osun LGS assignments