By John Dike, Osogbo
A nonpartisan, youth-led civil society organisation, Insight Initiative for Community and Social Development (IICSD), has appealed to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to expedite judgment on the lingering Osun Local Government legal dispute between the Attorney General of Osun State and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The suit, marked SC/CV/773/2025, was heard on October 7, 2025, and judgment was reserved, but it has remained pending.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, IICSD noted that the prolonged delay has continued to cripple grassroots governance in Osun State, with two rival groups still laying claim to leadership of local councils across the state.
The group observed that allocations totaling over ₦100 billion, released to Osun local governments since March 2025, have remained largely inactive due to the leadership crisis—seriously affecting healthcare delivery, basic education, infrastructure development, and other essential grassroots services.
IICSD, initiator of the Osun Open Local Government Project (OsunOpenLG), stressed that the legal uncertainty has stalled community development efforts and further eroded public trust in local government administration.
The civic transparency initiative has for years deployed community advocates across council areas to monitor local government performance, raise awareness about council finances, and promote citizen participation through town hall meetings, radio programmes, and grassroots advocacy.
More recently, the project launched a digital governance platform Amoye, designed to provide residents with verified information on local government duties, allocations, and service delivery—an intervention aimed at deepening transparency and accountability.
The organisation expressed confidence that a timely judgment from the Supreme Court would restore stability to the local government system and reposition councils for effective and impactful service delivery.
