Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has commended the Osun State Council of Obas, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and other public-spirited individuals and groups for helping the state appeal to the federal government to release the withheld local government allocations.
Reacting to the NBA and the monarchs’ appeal to the federal government and the presidency, Adeleke praised the courage and passion of the various groups for justice, truth and the upholding of the rule of law, affirming that, “We are vindicated on all fronts on our rightful claim on the local government crisis.
“I commend the NBA leadership for setting up a committee to investigate the Osun local government question and demonstrating the rare courage to release the report, which declared that there is no legal basis for the continuous withholding of Osun local government allocations.
“I am particularly pleased that the NBA report noted that a court of law sacked the APC chairman from office in 2022, not me, as being peddled in some quarters. After their sack in 2022, the APC Chairmen filed for a stay of execution, which the court denied.
I was not in any way responsible for their sack. The NBA findings have authenticated this reality.
“The election of February 22, 2025, to fill the vacuum created by the judicial sack of the APC Chairmen was conducted in compliance with another court order. Our administration has acted within the confines of the law and the constitution, as affirmed by the NBA letter to the Attorney General of the Federation.
“The action of the NBA on the Osun local government matters has cleared all doubts anybody may be harbouring, as the rightfully elected chairmen and councillors for Osun local governments are those elected on February 23rd, 2025, as again pronounced by the Court of Appeal of June 13th, 2025. By law, today, PDP elected chairmen and councillors are the rightful occupants of the Osun local government leadership.
“There is therefore no legal or constitutional basis for withholding Osun LG allocations. I thank our royal fathers, Mike Ozekhome SAN, Jacob Okutepa SAN, Ademola Oyedokun Esq and other lovers of Justice, democracy and rule of law for supporting and standing for truth on the Osun LG fund crisis.
“I again call on the federal government to release Osun’s seized allocations in line with the law and demands of the constitution. We will continue to deploy due process and rule of law in our struggle for Justice on this matter”, the governor said.
