The Movement for Credible Elections (MCE) has accused the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police of complicity in what it described as the illegal occupation of local government councils in Osun State, despite subsisting court judgments.
The group made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday after an emergency meeting of its national secretariat. It said former local government chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were unlawfully occupying council secretariats across the state.
According to the MCE, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo nullified the tenure of the APC-sponsored chairmen and councillors in November 2022, ruling that their elections violated legal requirements. The judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 10 February 2025 and reaffirmed on 13 June 2025.
The organisation condemned what it described as the continued diversion and withholding of statutory allocations meant for Osun’s local governments, calling the action unlawful and unconstitutional. It alleged that the move was intended to frustrate and pressure the Osun State government, which is controlled by a party different from that at the federal level.
The group questioned the authority under which the former APC officials were still administering local government affairs, noting that they had acknowledged the expiration of their tenure and had approached the courts seeking an extension, a case that has not yet been heard.
It also raised concerns over the role of United Bank for Africa (UBA), accusing the bank of releasing council funds to politicians without lawful mandates and allegedly acting on directives from outside the state. The MCE questioned why the bank was, in its view, acting contrary to Osun State local government laws.
Speaking on behalf of the movement, the Head of Secretariat, Che Olawale Okunniyi, described the continued occupation of council secretariats as a “brazen subversion of the rule of law and democratic order”. He accused the Federal Government and the police of emboldening the officials to ignore court rulings.
Mr Okunniyi said the impact of the situation was being felt most by ordinary residents, particularly retirees and healthcare workers, as withheld allocations had resulted in unpaid salaries, weakened primary healthcare services and disruptions in basic education.
The MCE stressed that local governments are a constitutionally recognised autonomous tier of government and that statutory allocations belong to grassroots communities rather than the Federal Government or any political party.
The group warned that politicising local government funding posed risks to Nigeria’s democracy, the rule of law and national cohesion. It noted that similar practices had previously been criticised by civil society organisations, the courts and President Bola Tinubu during his tenure as governor.
Reaffirming its commitment to democratic principles and credible elections, the MCE called on civil society groups, labour unions, youth organisations and professional bodies to mobilise in Osun State in February, describing the situation as a grave injustice against the state’s residents.
