The Osun State government has cautioned Finance Minister Wale Edun against seeking presidential approval to release withheld local government funds to former APC chairmen and councillors removed from office by the courts.
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In a letter signed by Musibau Adetunbi, counsel to the state, Osun accused Edun of attempting to bypass ongoing litigation at the Supreme Court. The funds, running into tens of billions of naira, belong to the state’s 30 local government councils.
LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
“It is inconceivable that you would ask the President to authorise the release of funds, which are under legal dispute, to these court-sacked chairmen and councillors,” the letter read, adding that such a move would be a “mockery of the administration of justice.”
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LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
The government reminded the minister that both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had ruled against the APC officials, with the judgments still standing. It stressed that the money is meant for teachers, health workers, pensioners, and other citizens, not for politicians “lawfully sacked by the courts.”
The state further urged Edun to treat Osun’s local councils like their counterparts in the other 35 states, who receive allocations through joint accounts, and warned that releasing the money before the Supreme Court’s decision would amount to a “grievous assault on the rule of law.”
The letter appealed to the minister to withdraw any such request to President Tinubu and allow the apex court to decide the matter.
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