June 16, (THEWILL) – Osun State and the Federal Government have renewed their fight over unpaid local government allocations to the state, following suits filed at the Supreme Court.
For the state government which had since dragged the central government before the apex court over the seized funds, last Friday’s Court of Appeal ruling in Akure, which struck out a request by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to relist its appeal against the Federal High Court judgment that nullified the controversial October 15, 2022 local government election, is an added victory in its struggle to validate the election it conducted into the LGAs in February 2025.
In a unanimous decision, Justice Peter Obiorah, who read the lead judgement on Friday, also condemned APC’s misrepresentation of its February 10, 2025 judgment.
The court reportedly clarified that it never reinstated the sacked APC chairmen, warning the party against distorting the court’s decisions for political gain.
The justices emphasised that the judiciary must not be treated as an extension of any political organisation.
“It is a case of volenti non fit injúria. They cannot complain of a self-inflicted injury. Equity aids the vigilant, and not the indolent,” the Appeal Court held.
Justice Obiorah further said, “If they knew their tenure was just three years and they went to sleep over their appeal against their sack for two years, it is inconceivable.
“There are three appellants with one joint notice of appeal, only one party is making an application to relist. Even if that one party can come alone, what are the reasons for bringing this application? If the APC is sincere, as a party that has many candidates affected by the appeal, one wonders why they went to sleep and failed to transmit records on time in accordance with the law and the rules of the court.
“I draw attention to this fact in order to show that the 3rd appellant applicant (APC) who was pursuing the sister appeal based on the same facts and similar judgement of the same Judex, Ayo Emmanuel J, cannot claim ignorance for not compiling the records of Appeal or have any credible reason for abandoning the prosecution of this Appeal that was dismissed on the 13th day of January, 2025.
“The sudden attempt to resurrect this appeal through this same court will only lead to confusion and this Court will resist such an attempt to lure it to unwittingly seat on appeal in CA/AK/270/2022. Everything in this application shows that the third appellant has not shown good cause why this application should be granted. The fate that has befallen them is self-inflicted. It is therefore my conclusion that this Appeal lacks merit and it is accordingly dismissed.”
Rather than settle the lingering controversy over the conduct of the poll, the appellate court ruling has reignited the supremacy battle in the state between the governing PDP and the main opposition APC. While the APC maintains that the ruling did not annul the results that produced chairmen on its platform, the PDP said otherwise.
According to the APC, the earlier Court of Appeal judgement which reportedly reinstated the APC council chairmen remains, while the PDP debunked the claim.
According to Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the APC, contrary to what the PDP is saying, Friday ruling does not in any way affect the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 10th February 2025 which reportedly reinstated the APC Chairmen and Councilors elected on the 15th day of October 2022.
“However, it is necessary to inform the general members of the public that contrary to the false and misleading information being peddled around by the PDP government and members led by another PDP card-carrying member, Hashim Abioye, there is nothing in the decision of the Court of Appeal of Friday that affects the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 10th February 2025 which effectively reinstated the APC Chairmen and Councilors elected on the 15th day of October 2022.
“This decision of 10th February 2025 of the Court of Appeal remains binding and valid, and it is only the Supreme Court that can pronounce or upturn on it, but in this instance, there is no appeal against it,” the statement noted.
The APC further said today’s ruling was different from the one which reportedly reinstated the Yes or No council chairmen and councillors.
The APC claimed that there is no vacancy in the local government councils in Osun State, adding that the “Court of Appeal ruling of today did not pretend to be making any such decision contrary to the puerile and misleading celebrations embarked upon by the shameful and lawless PDP and its members led by Hashim Abioye and Kolapo Alimi.
“The statement issued by Mr. Hashim Abioye and Kolapo Alimi today is a complete effort to mislead the good people of Osun State and law enforcement agents so that their misguided electoral fraud of February 20, 2025, could be used to steal back the Local Government offices in Osun State.
“In addition, the Court of Appeal never made any order in its ruling delivered today, 13th June 2025, other than dismissal of the motion for relisting of the abandoned Appeal in Appeal No. CA/AK/226M/2022.
“Moreso, what was in issue before the Court of Appeal was never whether the lower court judgment in the APP case was valid or not, and the Court of Appeal did not make any pronouncement on that,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has insisted before the apex court that no state, including Osun, has the constitutional authority to control, disburse, or manage statutory allocations meant for local government councils.
The FG, in response to a suit filed by Osun State government seeking the release of allocations in 2025, urged the Supreme Court to enforce its earlier ruling affirming that only democratically elected local government councils are entitled to receive funds directly from the Federation Account not through any intermediary, including state governments.
In its response to a suit filed by the Osun State Government seeking the release of withheld allocations, the Federal Government described the case as baseless and misleading.
It argued that Osun has no legal standing to demand the funds on behalf of the local governments and has instead expressed intentions to use the allocations for state-managed education and healthcare, a move it says contravenes an existing Supreme Court judgment.
In an affidavit deposed to by the Special Assistant to the President (Federal Ministry of Justice), Taiye Hussain Oloyede, in response to Suit No: SC/CV/379/2025 filed by Osun State against the Federal Government, the federal government averred that Osun State failed to indicate in its filing that the councils had submitted their account details to the finance ministry or that it had their consent to sue on their behalf.
“The plaintiff has even indicated in its affidavit that it will use the local governments’ allocation to finance the health care system and education contrary to the judgment of this Court quoted above barring state governments including the plaintiff from spending local government money on behalf of the local governments.”
He said the Court of Appeal had set aside the Federal High Court ruling that voided the previous local government elections conducted by the past Osun administration.
“That on the same 22nd May, 2025, the Minister of Finance told Chief Akin Olujinmi, CON, SAN, in my presence at about 3.15 pm… that the Federation has never withheld the funds due to Osun State or the local governments therein,” Oloyede added.
A written address filed by Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), leading seven other counsels for the Federal Government, described the Osun suit as “deceitful” and “shocking.”
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