Confusion As Governance: Osun Government, A Rubber-Stamp Assembly And The The Assault On The Rule Of Law 

OLALEKAN ONI 

The attention of right-thinking Nigerians has been drawn to the recent press release issued by the Osun State House of Assembly, a document so riddled with contradictions, legal ignorance, and political desperation that it stands as a sad commentary on the state of governance in Osun State.

When a frog loses its way to the stream, it becomes riotous. This perfectly describes a government and a House of Assembly that have lost direction and now substitute propaganda for policy and noise for legality. The Osun State Government and its rubber-stamp Assembly have succeeded only in indicting themselves by their mutually destructive claims.

In one breath, the government told Nigerians that the Federal Government was withholding Osun Local Government allocations. In another breath, it now claims that UBA is in custody of the same funds and that APC council officials are allegedly accessing them.

The same administration that publicly claimed it had been paying Local Government workers’ salaries for months now complains loudly of its inability to pay those same workers. The same officials who accused the APC of lying about having access to Local Government funds are now alleging without evidence that APC officials are spending those funds. The same government that claimed traditional rulers were starved of funds is now alleging that payments were made to Kabiyesis.

These are not mere inconsistencies. They are fatal contradictions that expose a government confused, frustrated, and dangerously detached from facts. Rather than act as an independent arm of government, the Osun State House of Assembly has reduced itself to a political echo chamber, abandoning its constitutional duty under Section 4 and Section 128 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to uphold the rule of law and conduct oversight responsibly.

Local Government financial autonomy is no longer a matter of debate. It has been settled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
On 11 July 2024, the Supreme Court, in Attorney-General of the Federation v. Attorney-General of Abia State & 35 Ors, unequivocally held that Local Government allocations must be paid directly to democratically elected Local Governments. State Governments have no authority to seize, withhold, or control Local Government funds.
Any interference by a State Government is unconstitutional and illegal, no House of Assembly resolution can override this judgment, no Governor’s directive can amend it and no press statement can wish it away.

Even more troubling is the deliberate refusal of the Osun State Government and Assembly to obey valid court judgments reinstating APC Local Government Chairmen whose removal was nullified by the courts. Under Section 287(2) of the 1999 Constitution, decisions of superior courts of record are binding on all authorities and persons throughout the Federation, including Governors and Houses of Assembly. Court judgments are not advisory opinions; they are not suggestions.
They are not subject to political convenience. The continued obstruction of reinstated APC council chairmen from working is a blatant assault on constitutional democracy and judicial authority.

The repeated and reckless attempt to drag former Governor Gboyega Oyetola into this self-inflicted crisis is dishonest and intellectually lazy; Alhaji Oyetola holds no executive authority in Osun State. He exercises no control over Local Government accounts, has issued no lawful or unlawful directive to any bank regarding Osun LG funds. There is no constitutional provision, no statute, and no court judgment conferring such powers on him, mentioning his name repeatedly does not create evidence.
It only exposes political desperation; former Governor Oyetola is being scapegoated to divert attention from the present administration’s failure to govern, refusal to obey court orders, and inability to manage Local Government affairs within the law.

The real crisis in Osun State is not UBA.
It is not APC.
It is not phantom figures brandished at press conferences.
The real crisis is; A Governor who prefers propaganda to governance, aHouse of Assembly that confuses loyalty with legislation and an administration that disobeys court judgments but lectures others on legality.

The solution is simple, lawful, and constitutional:

1. Obey all subsisting court judgments

2. Allow the reinstated APC Local Government Chairmen to work unhindered

3. End the politicisation of Local Government administration

4. Respect the Supreme Court’s decision on Local Government financial autonomy

Democracy is governed by laws, not press releases.
Nigeria is ruled by the Constitution, not confusion.

Ade Dancer must choose whether he will govern by law or lawlessness.

– OLALEKAN ONI 
lekanoni1710@gmail.com