THE crisis over the control of local government councils in Osun State between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) has boiled over, with the state government dragging the Federal Government to the Supreme Court for allegedly seizing the monthly allocations accruing to the councils.
Osun State local government allocations for the months of February, March and April 2025 are reportedly withheld, while that of May has not yet been determined.
The suit dated 23 April 2025 marked SC/CV/379/2025 filed by Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, counsel for the Attorney General of Osun State (plaintiff), has the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as the sole defendant.
The state government approached the Supreme Court for an order directing the federal government to release the seized funds and for further orders restraining it from further withholding, suspending and for seizing fund allocations to the local government councils in the state.
In an originating summons filed on 24 April, 2025, the state government is asking the Supreme Court to determine the following questions:
Whether upon a proper construction of the provisions of Section 162 (3), (5), (6) and (8) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) via-a-vis the decisions of this Honourable Court in A.G. Lagos State V. A.G. Federation (2004) 18 NWLR (PART 904) 1 and A.G. Federation V. A.G. Abia State (2024) 17 NWLR (PART 1966) 1; the defendant can withhold, seize and/or suspend payment of the monthly allocations, revenues and other funds due to the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state without any justification whatsoever, notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff state has in place, at all-time material to this suit, democratically elected local government councils?
Upon a proper construction of Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees the existence and subsistence of democratically elected local government councils in all the states of the federation, including the plaintiff state, whether the act of the defendant in withholding, suspending and/or seizing the statutory allocations due to the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state without any justification whatsoever, does not pose a threat to the existence, governance and/or subsistence of the democratically elected local government councils in place in the plaintiff state and, by extension, the state generally, and thereby contravening the clear provisions of the constitution?
Whether the defendant, without any lawful justification and/or any valid or subsisting judgment/order of court whatsoever, can single out the plaintiff state herein and decide to withhold, suspend, seize and/or refuse to pay the monthly allocations and revenues standing to the credit of the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state, notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff state has in place democratically elected local government councils in the state at all-time material to this suit?
The state government is praying the apex court to make the following declarations:
A declaration that the defendant has no right to withhold, suspend and/or seize the monthly allocations, revenues and/or other funds standing to the credit of the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state without any justification whatsoever, particularly in view of the fact that the plaintiff state has democratically elected local government councils in place at all-time material to this suit.
A declaration that the acts of the defendant withholding the monthly allocation and revenues due to the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state for the months of March 2025, without any justification whatsoever, despite the fact that the plaintiff has in place democratically elected local government councils at all-time material to this suit, as unconstitutional, unlawful and ultra vires the powers of the defendant.
A declaration that the seizure, suspension, withholding and/or refusal to pay the allocations and revenues due to the plaintiff state by the defendant is a threat to the existence and subsistence of the democratically elected local government councils which is in place in the plaintiff state at all-time material to this suit.
A declaration that insofar as the defendant is yet to commence implementation of the Judgment of this Honourable Court in Suit No.: SC/CV/343/2024 between A.G. Federation V. A.G. Abia State & Ors. by putting in place necessary logistics to ensure direct payment of the allocations and revenues due to each local government council of the states, the plaintiff cannot be singled out by the defendant for non-payment of its local government allocation while other states in the federation continue to receive payment of the local government allocation for and on behalf of their local government councils.
An order directing the defendant to release forthwith to the plaintiff, the monthly allocations and revenues due to its constituent local government councils for the months of March 2025 which have been unlawfully and unjustifiably withheld by the defendant into its state joint local government accounts.
Tribune
