Governors are frustrating local government autonomy verdict of Supreme Court ­—Adegoke, SAN

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and counsel to the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Adegoke, in this interview by SAHEED SALAWU, speaks on some national issues and particularly the controversy surrounding court judgements on the control of local government councils in Osun State.

Nigeria recently celebrated 26 years of unbroken democratic rule. But some say that what we have is rule by civilians and not democracy per se. Where do you belong in this argument?

It is true that there are lots of challenges bedevilling our democracy in Nigeria. Just like every other nation, Nigeria has its own challenges which make many people to castigate it on its democratic credentials. However, since no system is perfect, I will not subscribe to the claim that we only have civil rule and no democracy. Our experience as a nation that has passed through military dictatorship dictates that while we may not be satisfied totally with the current experiment, definitely we still have democracy.

Today, we have representatives in the Senate and the House of Representatives. We have representatives in the states Houses of Assembly who are making laws at the different levels. While politicians would remain what they are, we have had many cases of popular candidates winning elections without the opposition being able to even castigate the process leading to the outcome. In such a situation, it would be unfair to completely throw out the baby with the bath water and still expect to enjoy the title of parenthood. I believe we still have democracy and in order to make it better, efforts are being made at different levels to amend the Electoral Act to make them more effective in guaranteeing democracy.

Governors have received more money in naira terms from the Federation Account since President Bola Tinubu came into office. Are you satisfied with how the various states have utilised the funds?

Most of the Governors have not effectively utilized the funds coming into their coffers since President Bola Tinubu came into office. These are States that were unable to pay salaries, pensions or deliver on infrastructural development before the President came in not to talk of re-engineering their internally generated revenues to be able to create wealth, banish hunger and make life more abundant for the people.

Many of the governors have received more funds in six months in excess of what they received in four years under the previous administrations of Buhari or Jonathan. However, many of them have failed to utilise the funds to improve on the living conditions of the people and what they have only done is to pay salaries, pensions and do make-believe infrastructural developments. They need to invest the excess funds coming into their States’ coffers to improve on their IGR, guarantee agricultural development and output so as to ensure that there is food security, improved healthcare delivery, fantastic improvement in our educational institutions and create genuinely enabling environment for businesses to thrive. The masses today are still crying of hunger despite the funds received by the States. Food security is only possible where State and Local Governments effectively invest in mechanized agriculture. That is why lands in the States are vested in the Governors by the Land Use Act to be held in trust for the people. The Federal Government, in whom no land is vested, cannot guarantee food security without the States taking the battle against hunger seriously.

What are your views on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement on financial autonomy for local governments?

This is a salutary judgment for which the present administration of President Bola Tinubu should be credited for even deeming it necessary to approach the apex Court at all for its determination. It means that the federal government still believes in the rule of law and the institution of the judiciary as the final arbiter in determining disputes and not resorting to self-help.

However, the enforcement and implementation of the judgment have been made a dream with the Governors frustrating same by all manner of stratagems. For decades now, local governments in Nigeria have not enjoyed autonomy and the denial has always been at the instance of the Governors who divert the local government funds which were being passed through them, render democratic local government administration impossible in their domains so that they could have their puppets at the grassroots. Thus, after losing the autonomy battle at the Supreme Court, there is no trick in the textbooks they have not applied in order to ensure that the judgment would not be enforced.

You recently wrote a rebuttal to an open letter issued by PDP Reps on Osun’s local government allocations.  What prompted you to write the statement?

It is unfortunate that our PDP representatives in the National Assembly are more loyal to party politics than the rule of law. A situation where a group of House of Representatives members on the platform of the party in power in Osun State could take it on themselves to cause misunderstanding and try to influence the President to do the unlawful is unacceptable to me. Every right-thinking and patriotic element knows that the current local government administration seats in the various local governments of Osun State are rightly occupied by Chairmen and Councilors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress in October 2022 and recently reinstated by the Court of Appeal in its judgment of February 10, 2025. On what basis are these people now trying to subvert the rule of law and sound judgment by trying to impose persons who were wrongly declared to have won non-existent local government elections purportedly held on February 22, 2025? These are people purported to have been elected whilst the tenures of the current executives were still extant and subsisting. The entire purpose of the open letter is to ensure that local government funds are paid to these usurpers, purportedly elected by Osun State Electoral Commission (OSEC) (note that I removed the appellation ‘independent’ as there is nothing independent in the composition of the current OSEC).

If the President is not properly advised and should give effect to payment of local government allocations to these usurpers, the implication would be that the President is violating the decision of the Supreme Court in AG Federation and AG Abia State & 35 Others decided on 11th July, 2024 which mandated that all payment due to local government councils in Nigeria must go to democratically elected local government administrations. It would be a violation of the Constitution which is too egregious to come from the highest office of the land. That is why I considered it urgent and imperative to respond to the open letter penned to the President by the members of the House of Representatives on the local government allocation and administration in Osun State.

You described the open letter as “an unfortunate exercise in political revisionism.” Could you elaborate on what you meant by that?

Yes. It is political revisionism as they were merely trying to impose on the federal government a position that is neither supported by law nor facts. It is a reinterpretation of the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 10th February, 2025 by attempting to deny it its lawful effect and purport and an ascription of what is not contained in the ruling of the Court of Appeal onto the ruling delivered on 13th January, 2025. That is not only reprehensible but even unfair to the court that delivered the two judgments and rulings, respectively.

Some might say your article has political undertones as well. How do you respond to those who question your neutrality in this matter?

Any debate on independence or otherwise of local government administration not only has legal connotations but also political implications. That is why, in most cases, it is a political interest that is being determined. The entire crisis in Osun local government administration originated from two sui generis pre-election suits instituted by PDP and APP against the local government elections to be held on 15th October, 2022 which is a political issue with legal demands for determination.

I am counsel and consultant to APC in most of the matters pending in court, aside from my status as a member and leader in APC. If some people say I am political, I may have no apology for that. Counsel to PDP and other political parties involved are also political as they are seeking for determination of a political interest. Those vociferous cyberspace commentators you read on Facebook, etc. are also being political. Those who keep quiet without talking are equally political as silence itself is a political statement.

The legislators allege that local government funds were withheld for four to five months. What is your response to that specific claim?

It is a bad allegation. No one is withholding local government funds to the grassroots governments in Osun. If there is anyone who is supposed to cry foul, it is the legitimate local government administrations in Osun as presently constituted by the chairmen and councillors elected in October 2022 that are supposed to be making an allegation of that nature. However, those ones cannot make such an allegation as they know that the Federal Government is only trying to ensure that funds meant for local governments are paid to the appropriate persons and institutions and not to usurpers who are trying to frustrate the implementation and enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment. The PDP Reps making this allegation know that the Federal Government is only trying to ensure that the autonomy preserved by the Supreme Court in favour of local government administration in Osun State and Nigeria is just simply enforced.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry of Finance have made spirited efforts to comply with the judgment of the Supreme Court by directing all local government administrations in the country, which are democratically elected, to open relevant accounts with the CBN. No entity shall receive such funds except it is democratically elected and has an account with the CBN. The CBN is a banker, not only to the federal and State governments, but also a banker to the local government administrations in the entire country. The clientele base of the CBN has included not only the Federal Government and the 36 State Governments but also the 774 local government administrations in the country where there is a democratically elected administration in place. And they must have accounts with the CBN before they can be credited. For someone to now plead to the President to direct the CBN to pay local government funds in Osun State to persons purported to have been elected when another administration’s tenure has not expired, is an aberration that must not be condoned. Thus, no one is withholding the funds due to local governments in Osun State, it is only being ensured that such funds come to the constitutional and lawful recipients.

The crisis over the control of local governments in Osun State has dragged on for too long. The council secretariats have been under lock and key since February just as the Federal Government. What do you think is the way out of the logjam?

No. Council secretariats in Osun State have not been under lock and key. The offices are open. It is the unregistered political party called National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) that has been on a purported strike action instigated by the PDP administration in the State. The executives of the local governments are in office on a daily basis from the 17th day of February, 2025 following the February 10, 2025 judgment of the Court of Appeal.

The way out of the feigned strike is for NULGE to stop being partisan and allow its members being punished to resume work. The way out is for NULGE to answer the name of a trade union for which it was registered and stop being an appendage of PDP. The way out is for NULGE to be truly civil in its service and allow local government administration in the State to run smoothly without political impediment that it is being used for by the current PDP government in Osun.

A letter from the Accountant General of the Federation is in circulation asking the CBN to open accounts for local governments in Osun State. The Accountant-General’s letter lists political figures like “Chairman” and undefined roles like “Treasurer” and “DPM” as signatories for opening the accounts. From a legal and administrative standpoint, are these valid authorizations under Nigeria’s local government structure? Or, would you say the Accountant General made a mistake and should withdraw that letter?

The letter is in order and valid under the law. There must not be a vacuum in government and the office of the Accountant General is only helping the people of Osun out of the logjam created by the State Government and PDP. The Accountant General did not make any mistake and ought not to withdraw the letter. Payment of local government funds must be made to local governments in Osun under the validly elected and reinstated chairmen.

Given that the statutory officers in local governments are the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA), Director of Finance and Supplies (DFS), and Director of Administration, what legal issues arise from asking political officers (Chairmen) who are not recognized signatories to endorse account openings?

That is an issue that can be made subject to judicial determination. As counsel to APC and local governments in Osun, I will not make any comment for now until we get there.

In your view, what legal or constitutional principles are at stake in this controversy over local government allocations?

It is the same controversy that we have been entertaining since. It is whether local government administration in Osun is democratic or otherwise. It is whether the Federal Government can pay to the local government administration as currently constituted or should give effect to the claims of usurpers who were not elected in any local government election validly held.

You emphasise the role of the Supreme Court and constitutional provisions in your piece. What precedent or rulings are most relevant here?

There are many decisions of the Supreme Court interpreting Section 7 of the Constitution mandating that, at all times, local government administration in Nigeria must be constituted under a democratic arrangement. The most recent is the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of AG Federation and AG Abia & 35 Ors. decided on 11th July, 2024.

There are many earlier Supreme Court decisions upholding the independence of local government administration which the Governors have flouted with satanic impunity. You can refer to cases like APC & ORS v Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission & Ors (2021) LPELR-55337(SC) where the apex Court also held that it is settled beyond any equivocation that the continued existence of democratically elected Local Government Councils is sacrosanct, non-negotiable and cannot be tampered with by any authority whatsoever. Also, in Governor of Ekiti State v. Olubunmo, Eze v. Governor of Abia State, the Supreme Court upheld the same principle. In Ajuwon v. Gov. of Oyo State, the apex court also stated that it is unthinkable that a democratically elected governor would embark on the unwholesome undemocratic tendencies of subverting the democratic existence of local government.

What message do you hope the public and the President will take away from your intervention?

I believe the public and Mr. President would be rightly guided. They will follow the path of rule of law and justice. They will allow the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 10th February, 2025 to be enforced. They will also enforce the decision of the Supreme Court in AG Federation v. AG Abia & 35 Ors. They will uphold the autonomy of the local governments in Osun and allow the present crop of Chairmen and Councilors to exhaust their statutory tenures. After that, a local government election would now be conducted in a free and fair space to enable local government administrations to breathe in Osun.

Beyond this controversy, what reforms do you believe are necessary to ensure clarity and transparency in local government administration in Nigeria, especially now that the National Assembly is set on another round of constitutional amendment?

It is important that local government autonomy is fully enforced. We must take away conduct of local government elections from compromised and heavily subjugated state electoral commissions. The step being taken by the National Assembly in its constitutional reform exercise is proper as it is meant to establish another commission that would be responsible for conduct of local government elections. The local governments in the country must be weaned from the overbearing and dictatorial influence of the state governments. They deserve to be allowed to live and fulfill their constitutional mandates which are to bring governance closer to the people and ensure that dividends of democracy get to the masses.

The fiscal autonomy of the local government that the Supreme Court has won for us must not be allowed to be destroyed by some State Governors. Direct payment of local government allocations is sine qua non to local government autonomy. We must preserve this third tier of government from the corrupting influence of some State Governments, otherwise the masses are the ones to suffer which they have suffered enough.

Finally, can you assess the Adeleke government in Osun State and what would you say to Osun citizens who are confused or concerned about the state of their local governments?

The government of Governor Adeleke in Osun has not woken up to the smell of the coffee. It has been a very lucky administration that came into existence when the financial wizardry and boldness of President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became available to enrich the States. The government has received, within six months of its existence, times ten of what Governor Oyetola received in four years which incapacitated the financial mogul that Oyetola is from being able to achieve beyond the stellar records he has in financial prudence.

The government of Uncle Demola (as I fondly refer to it in unofficial discourse) has not, however, utilised its luck to the best advantage of the people of Osun. It has danced away its blessings and wasted its palm kernel broken for it by the benevolent spirit of President Tinubu. Osun is one of the States in Nigeria where food items are most costly. This is a state blessed with arable lands and energetic young men but who have not been encouraged to make effective contribution to food security and sufficiencyand make life more abundant for the people. Despite the huge volumes of funds raining on the state, its IGR has not improved a bit since the current administration came into power. That is not an indication of good governance.

Had it not been for the allocations from the federation, the government in Osun would have been prostrate and with the refusal of the federal government to pay local government allocations to unauthorized PDP usurpers being foisted on the people, the State has been unable to proceed with the substandard infrastructural projects that it has embarked upon to deceive the people into second-term re-election. It is the incapacity of this administration that has led to its inability to even retain the membership of most of its leaders who have decamped into APC. It is the same members who assisted it to win the elections in 2022 and all of them are now in APC. It is the fear of losing the 2026 governorship election that is making the government want to rig its sit-at-home chairmen and councillors into power so that they can access federal allocations and further pauperise the people of Osun State. The question is what have they done with all the monthly 11 billion, 12 billion they received since May 2023 up to February 2025? By my rating, this government is a failure.

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