Group Accuses FG Of Withholding Osun LG Funds, Calls It Betrayal Of Democracy

The Leadership and Accountability Initiative has accused the Federal Government of deliberately withholding funds meant for Local Government Councils in Osun State, describing the action as “an unpatriotic assault on the spirit of federalism and a betrayal of Nigeria’s Constitution.”

In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by its spokesperson, Hon. Nwazuluahu H. Shield, the group condemned what it called the “political sabotage” of Osun’s local governments by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration, alleging that the action was driven by partisan motives rather than constitutional principles.

According to the statement, the refusal to release constitutionally due allocations from the Federation Account to Osun’s local councils has crippled grassroots governance, stalled development projects, and worsened poverty across communities.

“To withhold funds accruable to Local Governments for political reasons is to weaponize public finance against innocent citizens,” the group stated. “It is a cruel economic punishment that directly affects thousands of local government workers, teachers, health officials, and grassroots development projects across Osun State.”

The Initiative recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during his tenure as governor of Lagos State, had himself protested a similar withholding of funds by the then Federal Government. It described the current action as a “betrayal of principle and empathy” and a return to “the same undemocratic path once decried.”

The statement listed several consequences of the alleged fiscal strangulation, including unpaid local government workers, stalled rural development projects, and growing poverty at the grassroots.

Calling the situation a “humanitarian and democratic crisis,” the group warned that democracy was at risk whenever the Federal Government used fiscal control as a political weapon.

It also made a series of demands, including:

1. Immediate release of all allocations due to Osun local governments by President Tinubu.
2. National Assembly oversight, urging lawmakers to summon the Ministers of Finance and Budget as well as the Accountant-General of the Federation.
3. Public condemnation of the action by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
4. Intervention by civil society groups, labour unions, and the media to demand transparency.
5. Attention from the international community, including the United Nations, European Union, African Union, and ECOWAS, to ensure respect for democratic and fiscal norms.

“Nigeria cannot afford to return to the era of political retribution disguised as fiscal policy. The federal purse must never become an instrument of partisan control,” the statement warned. “What belongs to the people must reach the people.”

The group said the issue represents “a defining test” of President Tinubu’s commitment to justice, democracy, and true federalism, adding that “the world is watching, and history will record whether he stood for fairness or perpetuated the same injustice he once decried.”