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The Osun State chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has alleged a plot to divert local government funds meant for the state through what it described as a “strange court manoeuvre” initiated by the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Addressing a press conference in Osogbo on Monday, the State President of NULGE, Dr. Nathaniel Kehinde Ogungbangbe, said the union has uncovered moves to employ a vacation court in Abuja to hastily decide the matter, despite subsisting court orders and rulings that affirm the position of the Osun State Government.
Dr. Ogungbangbe recalled that on May 12, 2025, the state government, under Governor Ademola Adeleke, approached the Federal High Court to protect the local government funds from being diverted to sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) council chairmen and councillors, whose removal had been affirmed by competent courts.
“The Court ordered all parties to maintain the status quo. Yet, in clear defiance, attempts were made to open accounts for these sacked officials in order to illegally siphon allocations,” Ogungbangbe said.
He added that it took a public outcry and the Court of Appeal ruling of June 13, 2025, to halt what he called “a brazen act of impunity.”
He further expressed dismay that, months after being duly served, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation suddenly raised an affidavit of urgency to seek a rushed vacation hearing in Abuja.
According to him, such a move raises suspicion of a plot to subvert due process and smuggle back to power individuals already lawfully removed.
“The Court of Appeal has already spoken. It unequivocally affirmed that the February 22nd, 2025, local government election in Osun State remains valid and that those APC officials have no tenure. So what is left to be heard urgently?” the NULGE boss queried.
He accused the defendants of filing misleading claims that they were never served court processes, despite a sworn affidavit of service by a court bailiff. He described the sudden claim of urgency as “self-created” and an “insult to justice.”
The union, while insisting that the local government funds belong to the people of Osun State, warned that any attempt to subvert the judgment of the appellate court through “judicial shortcuts” will be resisted.
“Justice cannot be ambushed. The people of Osun State will not allow their resources to be stolen under the cover of legal manoeuvres,” Ogungbangbe declared.
He called on the judiciary to resist undue pressure and stand firm in defence of the rule of law. “Any attempt to rob the people of Osun State, particularly our members, through vacation court shortcuts will be resisted by all lawful means available,” he warned.
The Adeleke administration has consistently maintained that the withheld local government allocations must be used strictly for the development of the grassroots, insisting that the funds cannot be handed to officials whose election and tenure have been nullified by the courts.
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