A senior aide to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has accused Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of misleading the public with false claims that funds meant for local governments in the state are being deliberately withheld.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Dr Bolaji Akinola, Special Adviser to the Minister, described Governor Adeleke’s allegations as “propaganda, falsehood and deliberate misinformation” designed to shift blame from what he called the state government’s “administrative failure and disregard for judicial authority.”
Akinola argued that any delays or complications in the disbursement of local government funds stem directly from actions taken by the Adeleke administration, particularly its repeated filing of what he termed “frivolous and ill-conceived lawsuits” aimed at overturning settled court decisions.
“If there is any delay or complication in financial disbursements, the responsibility lies squarely with the Adeleke-led Osun State Government, which has flooded the courts with frivolous and ill-conceived lawsuits in a failed attempt to overturn settled judicial decisions,” Akinola stated.
“No serious government sabotages its own legal standing and then seeks scapegoats for the consequences.”
He rejected assertions that local government administration in Osun remains paralysed, insisting that council secretariats are open, staff are at their posts, and statutory functions are being performed normally.
“The local government secretariats are open and functioning. Services continue to run, workers are back to their posts, and council administrations are carrying out their statutory responsibilities. The narrative of paralysis exists only in the imagination of a governor using falsehood to seek public sympathy,” he said.
Akinola pointed to a Court of Appeal judgement delivered on February 10, 2025, which reinstated the elected local government chairmen in Osun State.
He noted that the state government did not appeal the decision, making it binding and final.“The continued agitation by Governor Adeleke represents a deliberate refusal to accept judicial authority,” he added.
On the question of tenure, the aide maintained that the reinstated chairmen were elected for a three-year term and were unlawfully removed shortly after taking office.
He said related disputes are currently before the courts and cautioned against spreading misinformation on the issue.
He further invoked the Supreme Court ruling of July 11, 2024, which granted full financial autonomy to local governments across Nigeria, affirming them as an independent tier of government and prohibiting governors from dissolving elected councils or imposing caretaker committees.
“Adeleke should perish the thought of interfering with local government administration in Osun State. The councils are autonomous, lawful, and operational,” Akinola declared.
The aide also dismissed allegations that Minister Oyetola was exerting influence over the Nigeria Police Force, calling such claims “false, inflammatory and irresponsible.”
He stressed that the police operate under established command structures independent of any individual minister.Akinola concluded by asserting that Osun’s local governments remain “lawful, autonomous, functional, and protected by binding court judgements,” and that “the only crisis presently facing the system is a governor unwilling to accept legal reality.”
The statement comes amid ongoing political and legal tensions in Osun State over the status and funding of local government councils following the Supreme Court’s landmark autonomy decision.
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