The Osun State Government has refuted allegations that it is forcing career officers in local governments to change the signatories to council accounts, amid an ongoing political tussle between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) over control of the local councils.
Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Osun Adewale Adebayo, had accused Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration of coercing Finance Directors and Heads of Local Administration (HLAs) to alter signatories to the councils’ accounts. Adebayo claimed that these officials were being taken to undisclosed locations to be pressured into changing the signatories to those appointed by newly elected officials. He further alleged that these officials were being held against their will, undermining democracy and the rule of law. Adebayo also pointed to judicial pronouncements, including a Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the October 15, 2022 council election, accusing the state government of acting in defiance of the verdict.
In response, Osun State’s Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, swiftly dismissed the allegations as “mere speculation.” He stated that the state had not issued any directive to change the local government account signatories and that the claims were an attempt to create a false narrative. “They have made themselves look foolish in the eyes of the public,” Alimi added.
The APC in Osun has also urged local government workers to return to their duty posts, emphasizing that they should remain neutral in the political dispute over local government control. Jamiu Olawumi, the party’s spokesperson and former Special Adviser on Education under ex-Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, noted that reinstated local government chairmen had given workers a 72-hour ultimatum to resume work. Olawumi further criticized workers for allegedly becoming partisan and stressed that they were employed by individual local governments, not the state government.
However, the Osun chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) rejected the ultimatum, with Chairman Christopher Arapasopo stating that workers would only return when their security was assured. Attempts to reach Arapasopo for comment were unsuccessful.
The situation remains tense as both sides continue to navigate the ongoing conflict over local government control in Osun.
