The World Institute for Peace (WIP) has called on the Osun State Government to desist from interfering in local government administration and to fully comply with the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming local government autonomy and their exclusive control over statutory allocation funds.
The organisation said the apex court has clearly ruled that state governments and their agencies have no supervisory or financial authority over democratically elected local government councils, warning that continued interference constitutes an abuse of judicial process and undermines grassroots governance.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday at the WIP office in the Ogo-Oluwa area of Osogbo, the Executive Director of the institute, Mr Lamina Kamiludeen Omotoyosi, said the intervention became necessary amid what he described as widespread misinformation surrounding local government administration and the release of statutory allocations in Osun State.
Omotoyosi, who said he was speaking as a citizen of the state, stressed that WIP’s position was driven by peace-building and development concerns, not political considerations.
“As a peace and development organisation, part of our mandate is to promote societal progress. The local government is the tier of government closest to the people, and anything that weakens its functionality directly affects grassroots development,” he said.
He traced the current crisis to the dissolution of elected local government councils in 2022, describing the action as unlawful and unconstitutional.
According to him, the affected chairmen and councillors, elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), sought judicial redress, a process that culminated in binding judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Omotoyosi said the Court of Appeal, in its February 2025 majority judgment, upheld the appeal of the APC-elected chairmen in its entirety, set aside the judgment of the lower court, declared the dissolution of the councils unlawful, and ordered the immediate reinstatement of the elected officials.
He added that the appellate court affirmed that no state government has the constitutional authority to remove elected local government officials.
On the Supreme Court’s ruling, Omotoyosi said the apex court unequivocally reaffirmed that local governments are a constitutionally recognised tier of government and that funds standing to their credit belong exclusively to them.
“The Supreme Court made it clear that any interference with local government allocations violates the Constitution. This represents the final position of the law, from which there is no appeal,” he said.
Omotoyosi also dismissed claims linking the Supreme Court judgment to the Allied Peoples Party (APP), stating that the party was not a participant in the appeal proceedings at the Court of Appeal.
“The APP neither filed an appeal nor participated in arguments before the Court of Appeal. Any attempt to rely on that case is a misrepresentation of the law and a deliberate effort to mislead the public,” he said.
Addressing claims that local government allocations had not been released, the WIP Executive Director described such assertions as false.
“It must be clearly stated that the Federal Government has released local government allocations. Any failure in council operations is not due to non-release of funds, but deliberate obstruction,” he said.
He warned the Osun State Government against what he described as continuous litigation aimed at frustrating local government operations, noting that such actions amount to an abuse of court process and pose a threat to grassroots governance.
Omotoyosi called on the state government to embrace constitutionalism, respect the rule of law, and prioritise governance over propaganda, stressing that peace, development and citizens’ welfare should not be sacrificed for political interests.
Also speaking, the Director of Mobilisation and Orientation of the World Institute for Peace, Mr Adejare Ridwan Olaide, said the organisation does not align with any political party but remains concerned about the near paralysis of local government administration in the state.
“Our position is development-focused. Local governments are no longer functioning effectively, and this affects workers, political office holders and, most importantly, the people at the grassroots,” he said.
Olaide attributed the situation to alleged state government interference in local government funds and governance, warning that such actions undermine service delivery and development at the grassroots level.
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