Top Governor Drags Tinubu-led FG to Supreme Court, Gives Reason
- Osun state has dragged the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government before the Supreme Court over the local government funds
- The southwest state wants the apex court to declare the action of Lateef Fagbemi, the AGF, as unconstitutional and make three other pronouncements
- The new originating suit was filed through the state attorney general and a team of legal practitioners led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Musibau Adetunbi (SAN)
Ademola Adeleke's leadership in Osun state has filed a fresh suit against the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government at the Supreme Court. In the suit, the state called out the attorney general of the federation and the minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
In the suit, Osun state alleged that the federal government withheld the state's 30 local government councils' statutory allocations since March 2025.
Source: Twitter
When did Osun drag FG to Supreme Court
The Punch reported that the Adeleke government filed the fresh suit on Monday, August 25, months after Osun had filed an application to withdraw an earlier one, which was filed against the AGF on the same matter.
The new originating suit was filed through the state attorney general and a team of legal practitioners led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN), and Musibau Adetunbi (SAN). They are asking the Supreme Court to compel the federal government to release all the seized funds and to stop the arbitrary seizure of the local government revenues by the federal government.
Osun attorney general argued that the AGF was ignoring the subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court in Osogbo, the state capital, which was delivered on November 30, 2022 and the Court of Appeal verdict delivered on June 13, 2025.
Osun cites two judgments
The state government maintained that the two court judgments affirmed the legitimacy of the local government chairmen and councillors elected on February 22, 2025. It told the apex court that Fagbemi, in a letter on March 26, 2025, urged that the funds should not be released until the resolution of the local government crisis.
However, Osun held that the judgment of the Court of Appeal had already settled the matter, which nullified the October 2022 local government election, which was conducted under the previous administration.
Among the demands of Osun in the suit before the Supreme Court, the state asked the apex court to declare that the AGF did not have the constitutional right to seize the local government funds and that his action went against the valid court judgments. It also demanded that all withheld allocations be released directly into the accounts of the local government and ordered a perpetual injunction to restrain future seizures.
Source: Twitter
Osun sues FG ahead of election
The development is coming ahead of the 2026 governorship election in the state. The governor had recently visited President Tinubu at his residence in Lagos and subsequently endorsed the second-term ambition of Tinubu in the 2027 election
The visit has been seen as a political calculation ahead of the poll, but the governor's camp said Adeleke was seeking a political solution to the local government crisis in Osun.
Speaking on the development, Omotayo Yusuf, a political analyst, said in an interview with Legit.ng, commended the governor's move and insinuated the Oyo state situation in the 2023 election, where the APC won the presidency and the PDP won the governorship seat.
He said:
"I think the incumbent governor has done his calculation well, and that is by already aligning with the presidency."
Osun governor addresses supporters after returning Nigeria
Legit.ng earlier reported that Osun state governor, Ademola Adeleke, said his government and the PDP would overcome the threat posed by "pharaohs" against them.
The governor made the claim following his return from a short vacation in the US, where he attended the wedding of his nephew, Davido.
At a reception held in his honour, the governor told PDP members that his administration has lifted Osun from a state of poverty to one of prosperity.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
