Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has been exonerated from allegations levelled by the Osun State House of Assembly on the local government administration in the state.

Reacting, Oyetola through his Special Adviser, Dr Bolaji Akinola, described the lawmakers claims as fabricated and malicious. This is as Dr Akinola reaffirmed that all local governments in Nigeria have full financial autonomy.

Reacting to a press release issued by the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, on Sunday, 1st February 2026, Akinola said the attempt to link Dr Oyetola to the administration or disbursement of local government funds was reckless propaganda designed to distract the public from the state government’s own failures and ongoing legal battles.

He stressed that the minister has no constitutional or statutory role in local government finance and has neither issued directives to banks nor interfered in the running of local councils.

Dr Akinola stated that the press statement attributed to Egbedun merely recycled the same discredited narratives earlier pushed by Governor Ademola Adeleke, describing them as a desperate attempt to unlawfully reassert state control over local government funds in defiance of binding court judgements.

According to him, the Osun State Government and the State Assembly are uncomfortable with the reality that local governments have full financial autonomy protected by the Constitution and the Supreme Court.