Osun APC and the State Assembly clash over local government funds, with APC accusing lawmakers of overreach while Assembly insists it acted within law

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the State House of Assembly of exceeding its constitutional powers by directing commercial banks to block access to local government funds.

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In a statement on Tuesday, signed by its spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, the APC said the Assembly’s directive undermines the financial autonomy of local governments as guaranteed by the Supreme Court.

The controversy follows revelations that the Federal Government recently released six months of withheld allocations into accounts reportedly linked to APC-backed local government officials elected in October 2022.

However, a ruling by an Oyo State High Court restrained the United Bank for Africa (UBA) from disbursing funds from those accounts.

Responding, the State Assembly, through a resolution signed by the Speaker’s Chief Press Secretary, Olamide Tiamiyu, ordered commercial banks not to allow “unauthorised signatories” to access the money.

The Assembly’s statement warned:

“Any attempt by unauthorised persons to access local government funds is unlawful, unconstitutional, and of no legal effect. All financial institutions in Osun must comply strictly. Any violation will be treated as aiding and abetting financial fraud and will attract full legal consequences.”

The lawmakers further argued that the 1999 Constitution empowers State Houses of Assembly to make laws on the finance and structure of local councils, conduct oversight, and hold accounting officers accountable.

But the Osun APC dismissed the Assembly’s move as “a bunch of rubbish,” describing the letters sent to banks as “mere resolutions without the potency of law.”

“The horrendous letters from the Osun State House of Assembly to UBA over the subsisting logjam in the payment of local government allocations are not legislations but needless exercises in letter writing,” the APC said.

The party accused the Assembly of attempting to usurp the financial autonomy of local governments, contrary to the Supreme Court’s judgment.

“It is an aberration for State Houses of Assembly to take over financial supervision of local governments in whatever form.

The spirit of the autonomy judgment is to guarantee the independence of this third tier of government,” the APC stated.

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The dispute underscores the lingering tensions in Osun politics over control of local government finances, with both sides invoking constitutional provisions to justify their positions.