Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The campaign council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of deliberately withholding critical financial documents required for the payment of salaries to local government workers across the state. The allegation was made in a statement issued in Osogbo on Thursday, May 7, 2026, by the Co‑Chairman (Print) of the Media Committee of the AMBO Governorship Election Council, Kola Olabisi. The council, which is backing APC candidate Oyebamiji for the August 15, 2026 governorship election, alleged that the governor’s actions have disrupted the smooth administration of local government affairs, causing hardship and confusion among residents, particularly those dependent on local government salaries.
According to the APC campaign council, the governor is personally responsible for the non‑payment of salaries and allowances of primary school teachers, health workers, and other local government employees. The party claims that Adeleke has refused to release essential documents, including electronic salary vouchers, actuarial valuation registers for pensioners, and audited records of leave bonuses and union deductions. “It is astonishing that a governor could deliberately withdraw all the documents from the local government council areas that could enable the Court of Appeal‑reinstated local government council chairmen and councillors to effectively fulfil the payment of the salaries and allowances of government workers at the grassroots level,” the statement read. The council further accused Adeleke of “personalising the local government administration” and questioned the rationale behind the alleged withholding of documents, describing the action as unacceptable and suggesting it could warrant serious constitutional consequences. The APC council also said, “It is worthwhile to pointedly tell Governor Adeleke that he could only run, but it would be pretty impossible for him to perpetually hide under the constitutional provision of the immunity clause.”
The dispute over salary payments is rooted in a prolonged legal and political battle over control of local government administration in Osun State. Following Governor Adeleke’s inauguration in 2022, he dissolved local councils elected under the previous APC administration of Gboyega Oyetola. However, the sacked APC officials allegedly refused to vacate offices. In September 2025, a court sitting in Oyo State restrained the United Bank of Africa from paying funds from the 30 local government accounts opened in the names of the court‑sacked APC chairmen and councillors. The injunction remains in place pending further legal proceedings. Despite the legal standoff, the Osun State Government has maintained that core salaries of local government workers have continued uninterrupted through state‑level interventions. The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, told journalists in February 2026 that the state government had been using its own resources to pay salaries. The APC reinstated council chairmen, however, insist they are ready to approve payments once the governor releases the necessary vouchers.
In a separate development, the Forum of Local Government Chairmen in Osun State, under the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), has directed senior local government workers, including directors, Heads of Local Government Administration (HLA), and the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), to immediately release payment vouchers and schedules for salaries, pensions, and other entitlements. The Osun ALGON Chairman, Samuel Idowu Abiodun, said the chairmen have been requesting the vouchers since workers resumed in January 2026 after nearly a year‑long strike, but their requests were reportedly ignored due to directives from the Local Government Service Commission. Abiodun lamented that it is senior council workers, not the chairmen, who are holding up the documents. “I want to make it clear that none of the local government chairmen under my leadership refuses to pay workers. We have been making serious efforts to obtain the vouchers from senior staff who, by virtue of their positions, relate with and take directives from NULGE and the state government, instead of the chairmen,” he stated.
The crisis has also deepened political divisions in the state. The Osun State chapter of the Accord party dismissed the APC campaign council’s allegations as unfounded and politically motivated. The state chairman of the Accord, Victor Akande, described the claims as “a poorly scripted hogwash aimed at diverting public attention from monumental financial atrocities already perpetrated in the state local government system by APC political actors.” Akande insisted that Osun people deserve transparency, responsibility, and development, and that every move to derail the growth of the state would be resisted.
Governor Adeleke has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In an April 2026 interview, Adeleke accused the APC of diverting funds meant for local workers to their personal use and alleged that close to N300 billion of state money is trapped and hijacked by the Osun APC. He said the state government has been using money for state projects to sustain the local workforce, adding that if his administration had refused to pay, local health and education services would have collapsed. The governor also called on the Federal Government to release over N130 billion in statutory allocations that have been withheld from the state’s local governments since February 2025, describing the blockade as a major threat to grassroots governance.
A separate controversy has erupted over the suspension of more than 400 local government workers. The Association of Concerned Local Government Workers in Osun State, in a May Day statement, announced their support for APC candidate Oyebamiji, berating Governor Adeleke for suspending about 400 staff members for resuming offices with the APC‑led council chairmen. The workers also noted that salaries, imprests, leave bonuses, and workshops are being paid on schedule, but called on political leaders to prioritise the welfare of affected employees.
As the August 15, 2026 governorship election approaches, the political battle over local government administration and salary payments is likely to intensify. The APC campaign council is framing the issue as a test of Governor Adeleke’s credibility, while the state government points to withheld federal allocations as the true obstacle. For local government workers and their families, the immediate concern remains access to their monthly paychecks and the security of their livelihoods in an increasingly tense political climate.
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