The Osun State Government has moved to the Supreme Court in a bid to compel the Federal Government to release statutory allocations owed to its 30 local government councils. The action, filed on Monday, comes after months of legal back-and-forth, following an earlier suit the state withdrew regarding the same matter.
In its fresh suit, Osun, through its Attorney-General and a team of legal experts led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN), is calling for the release of the withheld funds. The state is challenging what it describes as an unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure of local government revenues. The federal government’s decision to withhold the allocations, which started in March 2025, is said to be in response to a “local government crisis” allegedly unresolved by elections.
The state argues that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has ignored previous court rulings that affirm the legitimacy of council chairmen and councillors who were elected on February 22, 2025. The Osun government points to a Federal High Court ruling from November 2022 and a subsequent Court of Appeal judgment in June 2025 that dismissed the previous administration’s October 2022 local government elections.
The government’s suit is calling for several key actions: a declaration that the AGF lacks the constitutional authority to seize the funds; a reversal of the withholding order; and an injunction preventing future seizures. In the suit, Osun argues that the withholding of funds directly contradicts the rulings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal. The state claims the refusal to pay the allocated funds has caused financial hardship, undermining local government operations.
Osun also raised five crucial issues for the Supreme Court to resolve, including whether the AGF is constitutionally obligated to enforce the rulings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal. Additionally, the state is questioning the legitimacy of the March 2025 directive from the AGF, which instructed the withholding of the allocations.
In a parallel legal move, the state has filed another suit at the Federal High Court in Osogbo, contesting the Chief Judge’s decision to transfer an earlier case on the same issue to Abuja. Osun fears that this transfer could lead to conflicting judgments while the Supreme Court is actively handling the matter.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, has condemned the federal government’s actions, calling them an “affront to the rule of law” and stressing that only the Supreme Court can ultimately resolve the constitutional issues. He pointed out that the AGF had waited more than 80 days before filing an affidavit of urgency in the matter, which the state claims shows an intention to rush the case for reasons of bias.
As the legal battle continues, the Osun State Government remains adamant that the withheld funds should be returned to the local governments without delay, and is pushing for a permanent resolution to prevent future disputes over allocations.
A date for the hearing of the suits has not yet been set.
