The lingering dispute over the Osun State local government allocations will reach a decisive stage on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, when the Supreme Court hears arguments on the matter.
The case has sparked a chain of litigations and interim orders freezing billions of naira in council funds.
After Friday’s proceedings, counsel to the Osun State Attorney-General, Musibau Adetunmbi (SAN), told reporters that the issue was not about spending but about preserving the disputed funds until the apex court rules.
“Our position is simple: those who paid out the money knew the matter was already in court. They ought to have respected the process. Let the Supreme Court decide; once it speaks, everyone will be bound,” Adetunmbi said.
Ahead of the hearing, the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, extended its Interim Injunction against the United Bank for Africa (UBA), maintaining a no-debit restriction on 30 bank accounts where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had lodged the withheld allocations.
Justice Ladiran Akintola explained that the extension was necessary to give all parties — the Osun State Attorney-General, the State Local Government Service Commission, and UBA — a fair hearing.
While UBA’s counsel was absent, the camp of the court-sacked APC local government chairmen, led by Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), appeared in court after filing fresh applications for joinder and a jurisdictional challenge.
But Adetunmbi rejected their claim to the case, arguing that the ex-chairmen “remained strangers” until their joinder application was determined.
Gbadamosi countered that his clients were directly affected by the September 26 interim order and insisted the court had no authority to extend an injunction in the face of a pending jurisdictional challenge.
Adding to the tension, the court admitted an affidavit from Mrs. Rachael Abidemi Aluko, Head of Local Government Administration in Boluwaduro LGA, who alleged that impostors attempted to divert funds by instructing UBA to remit 15% of allocations to a private law firm.
Adetunmbi further disclosed that letters existed directing billions of naira — representing 15% of allocations from March to September — to be paid as “legal fees” to a single individual, warning that without the preservation order, the funds would have been depleted.
The Attorney-General of Osun State vowed to oppose the ex-chairmen’s bid to join the suit, declaring: “Nothing connects them to this case.”
The battle over Osun LG funds has dragged on for months, with the state government accusing federal authorities of illegality and bias in the management of council allocations. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday is expected to settle the storm.
