- lament hardship on masses over diverted LG funds
By John Dike, Osogbo
The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has condemned the peeceived complicity of the Federal Government and security agencies in the continued alleged illegal occupation of local government councils in Osun State by individuals it referred to as impostors, despite subsisting court rulings.
Leaders of the movement, drawn from organised civil society, labour unions and youth groups, said they were prepared to engage all stakeholders involved in the crisis, while also warning of possible mass action should efforts to restore peace and constitutional order fail.
Rising from an emergency meeting held on Friday, the National Secretariat of the newly launched movement recalled that the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, had nullified the tenure of the erstwhile chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in November 2022.
The group noted that the decision was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal on February 10, 2025, and reaffirmed on June 13, 2025, on the grounds that the elections were conducted in clear violation of extant laws.
The MCE condemned what it called the continued diversion and withholding of statutory allocations meant for Osun local governments, describing the development as unlawful, immoral, and a grave abuse of the Nigerian Constitution.
According to the movement, the action was aimed at frustrating and coercing the Osun State Government, which is controlled by a party different from the one ruling at the federal level.
The group further questioned the authority under which the APC chairmen and councillors are allegedly administering the affairs of the councils, noting that the same individuals had reportedly admitted that their tenure had expired and had approached the court seeking tenure elongation—a case yet to be heard.
“So, under what authority are they holding on to the local governments and administering council funds, when state law provides that only career civil servants can be signatories to local government accounts?” the movement queried.
The MCE also raised concerns over the role of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in the crisis, questioning why the bank was allegedly acting on directives from outside the state to release council funds to political office holders without lawful mandates.
Speaking on behalf of the movement, the Head of Secretariat, Che Olawale Okunniyi, described the alleged occupation of council secretariats by APC chairmen and councillors as a brazen subversion of the rule of law and Nigeria’s democratic order.
He accused the Federal Government and the police of emboldening what he termed illegal occupants, alleging that they had openly boasted of remaining in the council secretariats despite subsisting court orders.
“In this imposed atmosphere of impunity, those suffering the most are retirees, healthcare workers, teachers and the masses at the grassroots,” Okunniyi said.
He asked why the Federal Government and its agencies would allegedly take pleasure in the hardship and suffering of the people of Osun State.
The movement stressed that the local government system is a constitutionally recognised tier of government and that statutory allocations belong to the people at the grassroots, not to the Federal Government or any political party.
According to the MCE, the alleged withholding of funds has resulted in unpaid salaries, crippled primary healthcare services, abandoned basic education responsibilities and widespread hardship among residents of the state.
The group warned that history was repeating itself, noting that the politicisation of local government allocations had long been condemned by democrats, civil society groups, the courts, and even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State.
The movement cautioned that continued financial strangulation of states and local governments along partisan lines poses grave dangers to Nigeria’s democracy, rule of law and national cohesion.
“Normalising this practice sets a dangerous precedent capable of destabilising Nigeria’s democratic order,” the statement warned.
The MCE reaffirmed its commitment to defending democracy and constitutionalism through advocacy for credible elections and called on civil society organisations, labour unions, youth groups, professional bodies and all lovers of democracy to remain on alert.
It announced plans to mobilise supporters to Osun State in February to intervene in what it described as a grave injustice against the suffering masses of the state.
