In a legal move, Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, has asked the Supreme Court to order the Osun State Government to refund seven months’ worth of local government allocations that were allegedly withheld. This development is part of a heated legal confrontation centred on how local government funds are managed and disbursed.

The request was made through a legal response filed by Fagbemi’s team, led by Senior Advocate Chief Akin Olujimi, in reaction to a suit filed by Osun State’s Attorney General. The state had petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that the Federal Government, via the Ministry of Finance, failed to release statutory allocations to Osun’s 30 local councils for March 2025.

The case, identified as SC/CV/379/2025, centres on Osun’s allegation that when they inquired about the missing funds, the Minister of Finance, Wale Ojo, claimed he was acting on instructions from the AGF. However, Fagbemi strongly refuted this, arguing that the claim was unfounded.

He pointed out that the AGF had not authorised the withholding of Osun’s local government funds and emphasised that the 2004 case of AG Lagos State v. AG Federation—which ordered funds to be released to Lagos—was not applicable here. Instead, Fagbemi contends that Osun has disobeyed a Supreme Court ruling from July 11, 2024, which strictly prohibited states from managing or controlling local government funds directly.

Further supporting this stance, a counter-affidavit from Taye Oloyede, the Special Assistant to the President, revealed that the Minister of Finance denied any instructions to withhold local government funds, and there is no evidence suggesting that the President or the Finance Minister authorised such withholding. Oloyede clarified that local governments are supposed to submit their account details to the Ministry of Finance, and the current administrators of Osun’s local governments—elected under the previous APC-led administration—have yet to do so.

Additionally, Osun’s government appears to have no legal standing to initiate the lawsuit since it did not prove it has the authority or consent from the LGs themselves. Instead, Osun claims to want the funds for state-level health and education projects—yet this goes against the court’s order that local government funds be managed directly by the LGs.

Fagbemi described Osun’s actions as a deliberate attempt to undermine the Supreme Court’s ruling and called for strict enforcement, urging the court to order Osun to return the seven months of withheld funds, which should be transferred to the Minister of Finance for proper disbursement.

The Attorney General’s office also raised a preliminary objection, asserting that Osun’s lawsuit should not proceed due to its alleged contempt of court, lack of legal standing, and the absence of a genuine dispute warranting judicial intervention. They maintain that only the local governments themselves can seek redress, not the state government.

Interestingly, reports indicate that Osun State has since withdrawn the suit. However, Olujimi noted that the case remains pending until the formal withdrawal is processed and reviewed by the court in September.

This ongoing legal tussle underscores the complexities surrounding local government autonomy and the federal government’s role in financial management. Stay tuned to Beadysblog for updates on this important case that could shape future local government funding practices in Nigeria.