The disagreement over the control and use of local government funds in Osun State has escalated, with leaders of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) offering sharply different explanations. The controversy centres on who is legally authorised to manage council accounts and how public funds have been handled amid ongoing political and legal disputes in the state.

ALGON chairman aligned with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sarafadeen Awotunde, alleged that the handling of council finances under APC-backed officials violated the Local Government Finance Law. According to him, the law recognises only Directors of Finance and Directors of Administration as approved signatories to council accounts, not politicians. He claimed that some individuals whose tenures had expired or were nullified by court rulings were still authorising payments, while workers’ salaries remained unpaid.

Awotunde insisted that any financial decisions taken by council chairmen without valid mandates lacked legal backing. He also criticised banks involved in operating accounts with what he described as illegal signatories, arguing that such actions contravened the law governing local government finances. The claims followed earlier allegations reportedly linked to the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, accusing APC council officials of mismanaging public funds.

However, the APC-backed ALGON leadership has rejected these accusations. Speaking in Osogbo, ALGON chairman under the APC, Abiodun Idowu, maintained that local governments operated strictly within legal and financial regulations. He said the opening and regularisation of council accounts followed due process and statutory requirements, describing the procedures as thorough and compliant with existing laws. The conflicting narratives have further deepened the debate over transparency, legality and accountability in Osun’s local government administration.