The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Osun State chapter, has raised alarm over what it described as “unprecedented abuse of power” by key federal government officials in the handling of the state’s local government allocations.
Speaking at a press conference in Osogbo yesterday, the state NULGE president, Dr Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, accused the Minister of Finance, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Attorney-General of the Federation of unlawfully releasing Osun’s local government funds into accounts operated by sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen and councilors.According to him: “Today, we have it on good authority that these three principal officers of the Federal Government have released the Osun State Local Government Councils’ allocations for the month of March, 2025 to September 2025 to the illegal bank accounts opened by court-sacked APC chairmen and councilors.
“We find this development very scary and alarming. Paying local government allocations into privately opened and illegal bank accounts of politicians is unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented in the history of public administration in Nigeria.”
Dr Ogungbangbe explained that the controversial accounts were opened with United Bank for Africa (UBA) without due process, reports Nigerian Tribune.
He continued: “These funds were paid to the accounts opened by these APC men with United Bank for Africa despite the fact that due process was not followed in opening the said accounts.”
The union leader argued that the action of the federal officers amounted to a violation of both the constitution and judicial pronouncements.
“We strongly believe that if these three principal officers of the Federal Government and the entire federal government which they represent do not have respect for our constitution, which they have sworn to uphold, they ought to have respect for our judicial authorities, more particularly the Supreme Court of Nigeria, before whom the suit in respect of these funds is currently pending.”
NULGE recalled that the Federal High Court had on May 15, 2025, ordered all parties to maintain the status quo, a directive which the Central Bank of Nigeria had acknowledged as binding in their court filings.
“It is on record that the Federal High Court of Nigeria on 15th May, 2025 ordered parties to maintain status quo, an order which has been acknowledged by the Central Bank of Nigeria as hindering them from making payment. It is public knowledge that the Federal High Court is to further sit on this matter on 29/09/2025.
“It is worrisome that these officers and the Federal Authorities, which they represent, do not have respect for the authority of the courts. We wish to remind them that a country that does not have respect for its own judicial authorities is digging its own grave,’ he said.
The Osun NULGE president stressed that both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had sacked the APC chairmen and councilors, while new elections had already produced fresh leaders.
He added: “We are not politicians, but our work as career officers who are expected to protect the assets of the councils is directly impacted by this illegal action of the federal government. There are existing bank accounts of the 30 local governments in various commercial banks. What informed the opening of the UBA accounts by the APC politicians in the names of the 30 local governments in Osun State, with the active support of the Attorney General of the Federation?”
Dr Ogungbangbe further warned against undermining the rule of law, insisting that the Attorney-General of the Federation could not overrule the courts.
“This is supposed to be a democracy and we insist on the Rule of Law. The Attorney-General cannot assume the role of the Supreme Court by setting aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the sacking of the APC politicians by the Federal High Court. The Attorney-General is not above the law,” he said.
Calling for calm in the state, the union urged residents not to allow “enemies of the state” to incite violence that could justify a declaration of emergency rule.
“We wish to state unequivocally that the alternative to the rule of law is what we do not want for our state. On our part, we appeal to all the people of the state not to give the enemies of the state any room to cause crisis in the state. Their ultimate goal is to cause anarchy and use it to call on Mr President to declare a state of emergency in the state so that they could have access to our resources. We appeal to Mr governor to continue to ensure absolute peace in the state as he is excellently doing. Let all of us have faith in God and our courts. By His special grace, this cup shall soon pass.”
APC slams NULGE, says allocations were paid into LG councils’ accounts
Meanwhile, Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has chided the state chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) led by Kehinde Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, saying he has added to his political duty under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as a new interpreter of the court judgments in respect of the delayed federal allocations for the state’s council chairmen.
The party’s Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, said in a statement in Osogbo that, “ We want to, as a party which believes in the rule of law, make it clear that it is not the duty of NULGE to interpret any court judgment and that the Court of Appeal judgment of February 10, 2025 which reinstated the APC local government council chairmen and their councilors is still in force as there is no record anywhere that it was appealed against.”
“It is also not true that the said federal allocations are paid into the account of any of our local government council chairmen or any of the APC member or chieftain, but into the local government councils’ accounts.”
“The NULGE needs not weave up series of lies in respect of the payment of the federal allocations for the local government councils in order to curry unmerited favour from the discerning members of the public as they are wiser, having passed through hell in the hands of Ogungbangbe’s pursuit of self-interest.”
It is unheard of that a supposed labour union like the Osun NULGE would deliberately shun the purpose for which it is existing to become an arm of PDP.
“The sing-song of the NULGE before now was that some agencies of the Federal Government were withholding the accumulated federal allocations for the local government council areas.
“Now that the logjam in respect of the local government allocations for the state has been laid to rest, what would be the next excuse of the pungently pliable NULGE which has been on sympathy strike with Governor Ademola Adeleke for seven months running just for failed efforts to annex local government funds?
“The statement that Osun NULGE is not political does not hold any water as it is visible to the blind, audible to the deaf and tangible to the people that the members of the labour union are working for the interest of the PDP.
“Our advice for the NULGE officials and their members that are being misled by the union’s executive is to put on their thinking cap with a view to being part of the winning teams that are beginning to transform the grassroots level of government across the state.”
“To this, we want to plead with the NULGE to shun brigandage and crisis as Osun State is a subset of the country being effectively governed by the rule of law.”
“We also want to impress it on the statutory security services such as the police, the DSS, the Civil Defence Corps and others to maintain water-tight vigilance required to protect the peace-loving people of the state at this particular point in time in the history of the 34-year-old state.”
Disclose the accounts into which the allocations were paid – PDP challenges APC
However, the state Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it noted the admission by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that it had received federal allocations due to local government councils in the state.
According to the PDP chairman, Sunday Bisi, “The state chapter of the APC had earlier issued a statement attacking the state branch of NULGE for condemning the payment of the allocations into illegal accounts opened by the court-sacked chairmen and councilors of APC. In that statement, the APC admitted that the allocations had been paid, but said they were not paid into the account of any of its local government council chairmen or any of the APC members or chieftains, but into the local government councils’ accounts.”
PDP challenges APC to disclose accounts into which LG allocations were paid
In its immediate reaction, the PDP challenged the APC to disclose the accounts into which the allocations were paid and the signatories of the accounts.
He described the earlier statement issued by the APC as an admission of crime against the people of Osun State.
“Rather than engaging in name-calling and propaganda against NULGE, we challenge the APC to come clean before the people of the state by publicly disclosing the exact bank accounts into which the local government allocations were paid and the signatories to those accounts. The APC should also disclose the amount in each of the accounts.
“We demand these details because all the statutory officers of all the 30 local governments, who should be aware of the payment, are not aware of it. These officers manage all the accounts of the local governments. They have not seen a dime in any of their local government accounts. Also, none of the state accountant general, auditor-general for local governments and the ministry of local governments is aware of the payments or where they were paid into.
“The Osun PDP wishes to remind the APC that hurling insults at labour unions cannot change the reality that the people of Osun are demanding answers. The questions are simple: into which accounts were the allocations paid, and who are the signatories?
“We, therefore, join NULGE, civil society and the good people of Osun State in demanding full disclosure or we will conclude that the APC and its leaders have staged the greatest heist in the history of Nigeria by diverting over six months of allocations of all local governments in Osun State.
“The PDP assures the people of Osun State that under Governor Ademola Adeleke, transparency and accountability will continue to be the guiding principles in the management of public funds. No amount of intimidation or blackmail by the APC will derail this resolve”, he said.
