The Osun State House of Assembly has accused former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, who is the current minister of marine and blue economy, of unlawfully directing the disbursement of local government funds and interfering in council administration, describing his actions as a threat to democracy, the rule of law and grassroots governance.
The Assembly made the allegation on Sunday during a press conference addressed by the Speaker, Adewale Egbedun, and shared on his official Facebook page.
Mr Egbedun said the House was alarmed that individuals whose elections as local government officials were nullified by courts, and whose tenure expired on 22 October 2025, were still occupying council secretariats and handling public funds.
According to him, the continued presence of the officials, all affiliated with the All Progressives Congress (APC), was illegal and had no backing under the Constitution or existing court judgments.
“These individuals have no legal mandate. They are not recognised by law, by the courts, or by the Constitution. Their continued presence in Local Government Secretariats is illegal and must not go on unchecked,” the speaker said.
The Assembly alleged, without providing evidence, that Mr Oyetola, a federal cabinet member and nephew of President Bola Tinubu, had been issuing directives on the disbursement of local government allocations despite having no constitutional or statutory authority to do so.
“Being related to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria confers no power to interfere in the affairs of Osun State local governments,” Mr Egbedun said, adding that Nigeria is governed by law and not by personal relationships.
Allegations of illegal disbursement of funds
The House claimed it had credible information that large sums of council funds were released under Mr Oyetola’s directives, including N25 million paid to each of the 30 APC local government chairmen, N12 million to each vice chairman, and N10 million to each of the 332 councillors.
It also alleged that N130 million was paid to selected traditional rulers in the state, while N13 billion was paid as legal fees to a private law firm representing the APC chairmen and councillors.
The speaker said the lawyers were not engaged by the local governments and that the payment of their fees from council funds amounted to a criminal diversion of public resources.
“Please, note that local governments funds are being used illegally to pay lawyers who represented the APC chairmen and councilors in their private capacities. The lawyers were not engaged by the local governments.
“Please ask Mr Gboyega Oyetola why he authorised the sum of N13B to be paid to Layonu and co (private lawyers) from local governments funds. This is criminal and this House will demand the refund of every kobo from UBA PLC,” the speaker said.
He said the Assembly would demand a full refund of the funds and specifically questioned the role of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc in releasing the money.
While accusing the bank of complicity, the Assembly warned that any financial institution that disburses local government funds on the instructions of unauthorised persons would be liable to criminal prosecution.
“The House therefore warns the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) in very clear terms that all illegal disbursements of Osun State local government funds, whether purportedly authorised by Mr Gboyega Oyetola or any other individual, will be fully recovered and treated as deliberate complicity in a financial crime.
“All the funds that UBA has disbursed so far with the alleged illegal instructions of Mr Gboyega Oyetola is a GIFT to Mr Oyetola and cannot be deducted from Osun State Local Government Accounts,” Mr Egbedun stated.
The Assembly also claimed that despite the alleged payments, local government workers had not been paid salaries for the past 12 months.
Those affected, according to the House, include primary school teachers, nurses, health workers, council civil servants, retirees and traditional rulers not favoured by the APC officials.
Even more troubling, the speaker said, were reports that another N50 billion of council funds was being planned for disbursement under the guise of project execution for political purposes.
The House said it had repeatedly written to UBA and other banks, reminding the bank that under Osun State laws, only career officers appointed by the Local Government Service Commission are authorised signatories to council accounts.
It warned that all funds already released under what it described as illegal instructions would be treated as losses borne by the bank and would not be deducted from local government accounts.
The Assembly also put international partners and financial regulators on notice, warning that continued involvement in the alleged actions could expose the bank to reputational and legal consequences.
Mr Egbedun commended Governor Ademola Adeleke for ensuring the payment of salaries to local government workers over the past year despite the alleged withholding of council allocations.
He said while the governor’s intervention showed responsible leadership, it should not excuse the diversion of funds meant for grassroots development.
“Osun State belongs to its people. The welfare of nurses, teachers, health workers, local government Civil Servants, traditional institutions, and ordinary citizens must never be sacrificed on the altar of politics.
“The law is the law. No individual is above it. No bank is immune from it. No political interest can override it. This is supposed to be a Democracy, where nobody is above the law. Mr Gboyega Oyetola should not be allowed to carry on as if he is above the law in Osun State,” the Speaker said.
Peoples Gazette reported that Mr Oyetola denied the allegation.
Bolaji Akinola, Special Adviser on Media to Mr Oyetola, who reacted to the Osun Assembly’s claim on behalf of the minister, said “The attempt to link Dr Oyetola to local government finances is reckless propaganda and a deliberate falsehood. The Minister has no authority over councils, has issued no directives to banks and has not interfered in local government administration. Local governments enjoy full financial autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court.’’
How the Osun LG funding dispute unfolded
The crisis in Osun State over local government administration and finances has its roots in contested leadership and competing interpretations of court rulings.
In late 2022, the Federal High Court in Osogbo nullified the election of local government chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a decision later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The courts directed the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission to hold fresh elections, which took place on 22 February 2025 and produced new council leadership largely aligned with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Despite these judgments, some former APC chairmen and councillors continued to occupy council secretariats, creating parallel claims to authority at the grassroots level, according to the Osun state government.
Amid this leadership dispute, the federal government, acting on advice from the Attorney‑General of the Federation and against the backdrop of ongoing litigation, withheld statutory allocations due to Osun’s 30 local government councils from the Federation Account beginning in February 2025.
These allocations, running into an estimated N130 billion, are meant to fund essential services, pay primary school teachers, health workers and council staff, and support grassroots governance.
The federal government’s position has been that releasing the money in the midst of unresolved legal battles over who legitimately controls the councils could contravene court orders.
Governor Adeleke has consistently condemned the withholding of funds as unlawful and harmful to ordinary citizens. He maintains that the February 2025 elections were valid, that the APC leaders were lawfully removed by the courts, and that the funds should be released into accounts controlled by the elected council leadership. On 5 December 2025, the Supreme Court condemned the seizure of the local government funds but stopped short of ordering their release because a legal technicality thrown up in the case.
Governor Adeleke argues that the continued occupation of council secretariats by sacked APC officials undermines democracy at the grassroots and contributes to the funding impasse, a situation he says has forced the state to shoulder payroll responsibilities to avert total collapse of local services.
In the 5 December 2025, the Supreme Court struck out the Osun State Government’s suit seeking to compel the release of withheld allocations, on the basis that the state government lacked authority to sue on behalf of the local governments even as it criticised the federal government’s seizure of the funds.
Meanwhile, the APC in Osun rejected the governor’s account, insisting that court rulings reinstated their former council leaders and that there is no lawful basis for allegations of illegal occupation of secretariats. The party has also argued that litigation by the governor has itself delayed the release of funds and urged that disputes be resolved in ways that restore services to local communities.
