AGF to s’court: Osun violated order on LG autonomy, must refund 7 months allocations

Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation, has asked the supreme court to compel Osun state government to refund seven months’ local government allocation to the minister of finance.

The AGF made this request in response to a suit marked SC/CV/379/2025 filed before the apex court by the Osun state government through its attorney-general.

Osun had sued the AGF as the sole defendant, alleging that the federal government failed to release the statutory allocation due to its 30 local government councils for March 2025.

The state government claimed that, upon enquiry, Wale Edun, the finance minister, said he was acting under the AGF’s directive.

However, Fagbemi, represented by his counsel, Akin Olujimi, denied the claim.

In a counter-affidavit deposed by Taye Oloyede, special assistant to the president, the AGF insisted that neither he nor the minister of finance approved the withholding of Osun LG funds.

Oloyede averred that on May 22, 2025, in his presence, the minister of finance denied ever receiving such instructions.

According to the affidavit, Osun has failed to provide evidence that the LG funds were deliberately withheld.

The deponents stated that direct payment of allocations to LGAs requires only that they submit account details to the ministry of finance.

He claimed that Osun failed to show that its LGAs had submitted their account details to the finance ministry.

Oloyede further argued that the plaintiff failed to show that it had the legal authority or consent of the LGAs to initiate the lawsuit.

In addition, the affidavit alleged that the state government intends to use the LGA allocations to fund state-level health and education initiatives in contravention of a supreme court judgment prohibiting states from managing LGA finances.

He also pointed out that an earlier ruling by a federal high court ruling in favour of the Osun state governor had been overturned by the court of appeal.

He said despite the July 11 judgement of the supreme court prohibiting states from handling LGA funds, Osun continued to receive and spend LG allocations from July 2024 to February 2025 describing the act as an “egregious contempt”.

“The only way to vindicate the authority of this court is to order the plaintiff to pay back all LG funds collected between July 2024 and February 2025,” the AGF stated.

“These should be remitted to the minister of finance for onward transfer to the respective local governments.”

Fagbemi, in a preliminary objection to the suit, said: “The plaintiff is not entitled to be heard due to contempt”. 

“The plaintiff has no right of appeal against the supreme court’s decision. The case does not present a genuine dispute to trigger the court’s original jurisdiction under Section 232(1) of the Constitution,” the AGF stated.

“The plaintiff has no locus standi to sue on behalf of local governments. Only LGs—not state governments—can seek redress for unpaid allocations. 

“If any LG has been wrongly deprived of its funds, it is the council itself—not the state government—that has the right to sue.”

Although it was gathered that Osun has applied for withdrawal of the suit, the supreme court will hear the formal application in September.